The Hunt
by Kaidon of Mdama
Summary: Not every Titan went down quietly after the Titan war ended, the minor ones, those too insignificant for the Gods to bother hunting escaped into the shadows. Now they plot to regain their strength and strike back at Olympus.
1. Chapter 1

**Sam's POV**

Something about Katie had been bothering me all day. It wasn't that she was being particularly annoying or anything. Well, maybe a little given how she insisted on, keeping me within sight like a watchdog.

Well it wasn't too odd. Since the start of the semester Katie had kept her eye on me as if I was some weird science project. She had been my first and only real friend. Katie was a half-Filipina girl with long brown hair that she almost never combed and chocolate brown eyes that always seemed to bounce around. But she was also tough, loyal and we liked a lot of the same comics, so I decided to stick with her,

If I didn't know any better I would have assumed she had a crush on me. But I already seem enough of her pictures with her scary boyfriend to know that wasn't the case.

Katie was a lot of things, but a cheater wasn't one of them.

But still she seemed on edge today. She was always glancing over her shoulder and keeping her head down. Her eyes constantly darted back and forth with what was possibly fear. Even the way she walked was brisk and difficult to keep up with.

It was almost like she was avoiding a fight. And Katie was always looking for a fight.

Every time I asked her what was wrong she'd just grunt the same noncommittal response she had done the whole day. "Oh nothing." She said once again pulling her hood up and leading me down an alley that lead to my apartment.

Katie glanced over her shoulder to look at the crowds of people walking on the street. "Come on Pipes." She said quietly enough that I almost didn't hear it. I wanted to ask her about it, but I knew that she would give me the same answer. Instead I force my mouth shut and decide to wait until we got inside and she's calmer before bringing it up again.

We were about halfway across the alley when I understood what she was looking at. Someone was followings us.

I stopped beside her, yet the loud splash of feet hitting a water puddle was still audible. Then a man began walking into the alley behind us. He could easily be in the Army or Marines, he was huge, almost six and a half feet tall and rippling with muscles that were barely contained in his black muscle shirt. His ruby red hair was trimmed in a buzz cut.

Time seemed to slow down as he covered the distance between us. The sounds in the streets were drowned out and the only noise I heard was his combat boots hitting the pavement. I instinctively took a step back from him when Katie placed an arm in front of me.

She turned to me and nodded grimly. Was this what Katie was so scared of? I knew she did some shady things like sell fake movies, but I never thought she'd get into this kind of trouble. The Filipina growled and reached down into her sneaker and pulled out a switchblade. "Get back you bastard."

The mans scar-flecked face tugged upwards in a smile. "Now Katie. Is that anyway to speak to your Great Uncle? I would have thought my nephew would raise you better than that. But from what Luck told me, he wasn't much of a father."

Katie bristled now and tightened her grip on her knife. Whatever he said seemed to have struck a nerve. She pointed her knife at him, trembling slightly. "You want some advice Pallas? Never mention that name around me again."

Something in the back of my mind clicked. That name sounded so familiar, almost like a distant memory tugging at me to get free. Where have I heard that name before.

Pallas, as I guess he was called stopped a few feet from us and pulled out a huge hunting knife that made Katie's switchblade look a lot more like a butter knife. Still that didn't stop her from advancing a step forward.

"Katie are you sure it's smart to fight the mean man with a knife." I questioned nervously.

"No, it's not." She turned and grinned at me. "Once I move run."

Katie suddenly sprinted forward, easily covering the distance between them in a matter of seconds. She ducked under his arm as his knife flashed above her and slashed her own blade across his face. I tried to turn and move, but my legs were like jelly and wouldn't respond to me.

Pallas touched the long cut across his face and growled. Instead of blood, it was liquid gold that trickled out. He jabbed his hunting knife again but Katie easily sidestepped it. She threw a pair of punched at his outstretched arm which caused him to drop his knife.

I felt a grin form on my face as the man stumbled back. Katie advanced closer triumphantly, twirling her knife. Pallas leg suddenly came up and slammed into Katie's knee.

She doubled over in pain, her knees buckling underneath her and she dropped like a stone. Her knife clattered to the side.

Pallas pounced on her, pinning her against the pavement grabbing her cheeks. "You shouldn't have done that Katie." He pressed his knife against face, leaving a thin line of blood. Katie grimaced and bit her lip, resisting the urge to scream.

I scrambled to the side and picked up her knife. Gripping it with both hands I pointed it at him, trying to control then shaking in my hands. "And what do you plan to do with that?" Pallas said mockingly, turning to me.

Thankfully I didn't need to answer, the lid garbage can came flying out of nowhere and hit him square in the face. He was thrown off Katie in a daze, his head spinning back and forth. Pallas stumbles to the side and fell with a loud crash onto some garbage cans.

"Katie!" A voice shouted from the alley. Another girl came sprinting past me and kneeled down to her. Katie managed to sit up, blood trickling from the side of her face and her nose was bent in an odd angle, but otherwise she looked fine.

The new girl turned to me, her choppy and uneven chocolate brown hair bouncing as she moved, her eyes were like looking at a kaleidoscope, always changing color and never focusing. She was dressed in jeans and an orange T-shirt that said Camp Half-Blood. I could have sworn I saw Katie wear something like that.

"Are you alright?" She asked, running up to me.

I stare at her, open mouthed for a second before her question registered in my mind. "Y-ya. Ya I think I'm alright."

"Good. Listen I know you're scared and confused but-" Camper girl was abruptly drowned out by a high pitched shriek. We turned around and instantly felt my blood run cold. Pallas stood behind Katie whose face was white as chalk and eyes stared blankly. Sticking out of the side of her body was several inches of serrated metal.

Pallas sneered at her and released the blade, letting Katie fall with it. He stood up, still struggling to stand properly and likely still dizzy from the girls flying garbage lid maneuver.

Fiery rage blinded my vision as I pushed then girl aside. Katie's dagger was still in my hand. I raised the small blade and hurled it with all my strength. I fully expected my throw to be a complete miss, yet it flew straight and true to Paas's face.

The dagger slice through the side of his face, grazing through the left part of his head and leaving his golden blood flowing freely. Pallas screamed in agony, one hand cupping his wound, trying to close it up get the golden liquid flowed through his fingers.

"Curse you heroes! Consider yourself lucky that my power has not yet fully returned." He raised both his hands in the air as a glowing aura began to surround him.

"Get down!" The new girl screamed and threw herself at me, sending both of us sprawling behind a dumpster. A brilliant explosion of golden light ripped through the alleyway. I peered over the dumpster and saw a circle of ash and soot where Pallas stops moments before. Katie was still there, sprawled on the ground, laying face first.

The girl and I ran over to her. She reached her fist and flipped her over, pressing her fingers over Katie's neck. After a few seconds she sighed in relief. "I feel her pulse, she's alive but we need to get her some help."

I wanted to sob in relief. I kneeled down and helped the girl lift Katie up. She was still unconscious and slumped into our arms. As we walked I turned to the other girl. "Who was that guy who attacked her? And who are you?"

She lead us through an alley and began heading to a Central Park. The camper girl took a deep breath and looked as if the what she was going to say wasn't easy. "Alright I think it's best to start from the beginning. First of, my name is Piper. And do you know all those stories about Greek mythology?"

I nodded.

"Well what if I told you that those stories, the gods, monsters and heroes were real."

My legs hit against each other and I nearly fell over. I stared at Piper for any sign of amusement, or anything that told me that this wasn't true. But judging by her look I could tell that she was dead serious.

I stopped running and Piper nearly dropped Katie. "Please tell me you're joking." My voice was barely above a whisper.

"No. Why do you say that?" Her voice was filled with concern. "What do you know?"

"Well there was this incident a couple months ago at the start of the school year." I admit, keeping Katie slung on my shoulder and beginning to walk. "I was out in the courtyard when I was approached by some guy in a trench coat. He tried giving me this letter, he said something like it was from a relative."

"And?" Piper questioned.

"And, when I looked up at him I saw that he only had one eye." I pointed at the center of my forehead. "Right here."

Piper walked beside me. "A cyclops then. What did he do to you?"

I chuckled and nudged Katie's head softly. She groaned softly in response. "Kaite. She scared the guy away with a knife."

Even Piper gave me a sad smile. "Ya that sounds like here. I hope she'll be ok." She stops and pulls out a baggie of little yellow bars about the size of a piece of gum. She picks one up and makes Katie swallow it. "This should help. Its ambrosia, the food for the gods. It can help heal her injuries."

"Well where are you even taking us?" I asked as she lead all of us to the edge of the forest.

"Here is good." A small smirk played across Piper's face. She moves Katie to me as she stepped forward and placed two fingers in her mouth as she blew a high note like one I used to call Taxis.

There was a soft sound of clopping hooves coming from the trees. Shadows and shapes parted from a bush and a horse stepped out. It was a magnificent white stallion, but what was a horse doing out here. But as he stepped out of the woods, I saw he was more than any stallion. He had a pair of massive white dove wings growing from his flank. His wingspan was probably longer than I was tall.

Another horse joined him shortly after, a shy looking mare with fur the color of ginger. I looked at both of them admiringly. Piper stepped behind me and patted my back. "Have you ever gone horseback riding?"

Again I shook my head. But I looked at the horses again and gave her a grin. "But I think in this case I'll learn quickly."


	2. Chapter 2

**Sam's POV**

After an afternoon of thugs, demigods and fights I wasn't sure what could possibly top that for the new strangest afternoon of my life.

Now, I'm on a flying horse.

Piper looked back from her pegasus and giggled. She gripped the reins of her Pegasus and adjusted seating. "Are you sure you can handle driving Sam?" Katie asked worriedly behind me. She woke up a few minutes ago after Piper bandaged me up.

When we started flying she took one look down below and tightened her grip around my waist when she saw how far up we were.

"Come on Katie have some faith in me." I gave her a shaky grin. In truth I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Thankfully it seemed that Piper had given me a smart Pegasus to ride. She seemed to know which direction to go and did all the work. All I had to do was make sure neither me or Katie fell off.

Katie muttered something in ancient Greek. To my surprise I was able to make out the words casket and deathbed. "Hey Katie? If you're a demigod, then who's your parent?"

"Daughter of Hermes." She said, grinning fiendishly as she ran a hand across her chocolate brown hair. "God of Speed, thieves, travellers and awesomeness. I even got a pair of winged sneakers for my sixteenth birthday from him."

I look down at the Converse she always wore whenever I saw her. She clicks the heels of her shoes together and a pair of feathery white wings sprout out from the ankle and flap around. "Is that why you always got to school so early?" I let out a long whistle. "Why don't you just fly instead of riding with me? Since you don't trust me to drive." I add, sticking my tongue out playfully.

"Cause we're too far up." Katie replied, inching closer behind me. She bit her lip and shook her head. Yet she still managed to give me a lopsided grin. "The winds are too powerful for me to keep steady, so I guess you're stuck with me."

We rode in mostly silence save for the loud gusts of wind or the whinnies of the Pegasus. Soon the densely populated skyline of New York City vanished and was replaced with the open fields and low houses of Long Island.

Piper's Pegasus moves closer to me. "We're getting close to Camp Half-Blood, we should arrive there within a few minutes." With that, her Pegasus descends downwards to a sprawling forest.

My Pegasus follows after her, flapping his wings downwards as he moves downwards, closer to the forest. Soon from flying from high above the trees, we now only barely flew above the highest pine trees.

I squint my eyes and look around the area. "Ok I give up, where is the camp you're talking about?"

Katie looked at me as if I were stupid or grew a second head or something. "Its hidden Sam. How do you expect us to explain a camp filled with teenagers in training Greek armor and weapons."

"I don't know, tell them that you're a history summer camp." I retort.

Katie was silent for a second. "Shut up." She said and gave me a playful cuff on the shoulder. I looked over the side of the Pegasus and quickly pulled myself away as dozens of birds came flying past us above the air.

I pulled my arms over my face just as their beaks and talons scratched my skin. Katie shrieked behind me and threw her body against mine as she covered her face. Even the Pegasus neighs and kicks around. He kicks around and nearly throws us off him. I wrap my legs around his neck and pull his reins, trying to get him under control.

But the birds vanished as quickly as they came. Within a few seconds all the birds were gone and left us looking around. "That was weird." I muttered. "You ok back there?"

Katie looked a bit shaken, but jerked her head. "What was that?" She demanded. "Stymphalian birds." She added answering her own question, but before I could say anything, there was another sound. I tensed and gripped my reins tightly. At first I thought that it was more birds, but this was a loud grunt.

"Look out!" Katie screamed and pointed at something in the distance. My eyes widened as I shoved the Pegasus reins to the side just as a boulder the size of my torso flew right past me. Several more flew straight at us seconds later. This time the Pegasus wasn't so lucky and one managed to graze his wing.

The Pegasus tumbles and thrashes in the air, stumbling, though this time I wasn't able to keep my hold. I screamed my lungs out as I fell, the winds smacking against my face. I had to force my eyes shut as they started to burn.

I didn't even notice a pair of hands slip under my waist and pull me up. I glanced up and saw Katie struggling to pull me up. Her face was grimacing as she strained to keep me up. The wings on her shoes flapped rapidly but really it could only slow me down but not stop me.

"I'm going to let you go above a lake. Just don't panic." She shouted through the strong winds.

I jerk my head rapidly just as she released her arms from me. I threw my hands up as I hit the water. I sank like a rock, falling quickly as blackness swam around my vision. _No, not like this._ I pushed all of that aside and shook my head. My arms spread and flapped around in the water as I pulled myself up, moving slowly as I felt my lungs start to tighten around my chest. I looked back up. _Just a little bit more._

With one final shove I felt my head break out of the water. I took a loud exhale and glanced around. Katie hoovered right above me with a concerned frown. She brightens up considerably when she saw me. "Oh gods I thought I lost you. I was right about to head down there?"

"Wheres Piper and the Pegasi?" I ask, paddling towards the shore.

"Once she saw that we were fine she circled around to get the other Pegasus and make sure they make it back to Camp." She replied, floating a few feet away from me before the wings disappeared and she landed on the ground.

I nodded and joined her. "We're still a little ways off from Camp." She pulled out her switchblade and passed it to me. "You might want to hold onto this."

"Thanks." I said trying to keep the edge out of my voice. I've seen people carry these all the time but I never tried it myself. It felt awkward in my hands and I nearly dropped it. "But what will you use?"

In response she reached for something on her back. I realized it was a belt with a sword attached. "I got it from Piper. She passed it to me before we left."

"Alright you kids get out of my lake!" A voice shouted indignantly. It was shrill and angry. From the bushes a young girl burst out. She was a pretty girl with wavy brown hair braided with seashells and grass, and had bright green eyes that sparkled like the ocean. She was dressed in a simple blue and green dress with matching light blue sneakers. But what really set her apart was the wooden trident she carried and waved around.

Once she caught sight of us her angry expression melted to one of exasperation. "Oh, hey there Katie. You know you could call before deciding to go swimming." She glanced at me. "Or at least bring your swimsuits."

"Haha Aqua, but no. This is our newest recruit." Katie motioned to me and rubbed the back of her neck with a nervous chuckle. "As you can see we had a bit of a rough landing."

"Ya I can see that." She said dryly and waved her hands. Instantly I felt all the water on my clothes flow off and back to the lake like a giant vacuum cleaner. "He's cute I suppose. Where'd you find him?"

"New York. It took me a while to positively identify him but he checks out." Katie began to explain.

"I think little half bloods crashed this way!" A loud, booming voice yelled, causing more birds to fly away in the distance. A pair of hands the size of dinner plates reached forward and pushed through the forests followed by a head. I froze and felt the blood drain from my body as I saw the creature.

At first I thought it was just a twelve foot tall giant or something, but its eye turned to me, a single brown eye at the center of his forehead. A Cyclops. "I found the godlings!" He announced happily as two more creatures pushed their way through. These ones were much smaller, about half his size and had two eyes. Though their bodies were rippling with muscles and tattoos.

"And a little lake to bathe in." One of the smaller giants added, chuckling stupidly.

"Oh hell no!" Aqua shouted angrily, raising her trident. "You're not setting one of your smelly, fungus ridden feet in my lake!"

Katie appeared beside her and drew her sword form her back. "Still got my switchblade Sam?" I pulled it out and held it for her to see.

The Cyclops laughed and raised his club in the air. It was little more than an uprooted tree trunk and when he skashed it against the ground I felt it shake, "Little girls wish to stop is from bathing."

Aqua felt her I twitch as she gripped her trident. The handle started to groan as she held it. "Let me have 'em." With that she raised it over her shoulder and threw it at him.

The wooden trident struck him dead center in the eye. The Cyclops threw his head back and screamed in pain. He stumbled around, grabbing trees and knocking them around.

Katie rushed forward as his two smaller friends looked on in confusion. She dived under one's legs and jabbed her sword at his thighs. The giant looked back at her, then at his injured thigh before vanishing into a pile of ash.

She looked up just the second giant sent his club crashing down into her face. "Katie, no!" I pulled my knife and charged at him. I rolled out of the way as he turned around to face me.

He pivoted in place as he prepared to attack again. Something took over in my mind and I saw each attack before it came. I dodged and parried each attack, slowly backing up until I felt my back press against a tree.

The giant grinned and loomed closer. His lip curled into a vicious snarl so I did the only thing that came to mind. I flipped the knife until I held it by the blade and hurled it. The shot was beautiful, arcing through the air in a straight line and hit the giant right in the face.

The only problem was that it hit him handle first. Katie's knife dropped to the ground as the giant grunted, staggering around. His eyes bulged however as another blade came out of his chest, leaving a foot of bronze sticking out.

Katie held the hilt of the blade tightly with one hand, grinning as she pulled it out. Though one she did, Katie nearly fell over. The only thing that stopped her from, falling completely was her using the sword to help her stand.

"Damnit Katie we need to get you to the camp." I grabbed her when she nearly fell and helped her up.

Aqua approached behind me, her trident covered in dust as she finished off the cyclops. "No baths?" He asked weakly before disintegrating into a pile of dust.

She jogged up to them, panting slightly as she slung her trident back and looked at the two of us. "What happened here?" She frowned, her brow wrinkling with concern.

"Katie was wounded since we left. We did what we could to bandage her up but we need to get her to Camp Half-Blood. Or at least that's what Piper told me." I explained quickly, helping her down. She grunted and tried to wave me off but I forced her down.

Aqua gestured for her to sit down, silencing any complaints she had. "Let me see her injured. I know a little healing magic so I might be able to help."

I do as she said and lift up Katie's hoodie and T-shirt, revealing a set of wrapped bandages around her waist. Per her instructions, I slowly began to unwrap them. The color drained from my face as I saw the wicked looking hole in her waist, the surrounding skin was purple or black. Though at least it had started to cloth so no more blood came out.

Aqua rests her hands on Katie's wound, causing Katie to wince in pain to inspect it. "Come on Katie it's just a little sting. You're lucky, a little closer to the left and it would have taken you by the stomach." She got up and walked over to the lake where cupped her hands and buried them into the water, letting the water fill her delicate hands as she gently poured it into Katie's wound.

The water seeped into her stomach, flowing in. I could have sworn it was glowing as it flowed in, but as the last of it went into the hole in her stomach, to my surprise I saw the wound already changing color, back to its normal state as it started to close.

"She would still need bed rest and medicine, but now I'm sure she could make it to camp alright." Aqua said, smiling a little as she helped Katie to her feet. "I could take you there."

I stared upwards at the sound of the flapping wings, far too large and loud to be those be the stymphalian birds again. I looked up and saw Piper approaching us with her Pegasus. "About time you got here." I shouted dryly.

"Well someone had to get your Pegasus under control." She retorted. "I couldn't just let him hurt himself after he ran off." She frowned and looked over all of us. "Well I guess I'll need to make two trips then."

"Katie goes first then." I said immediately, holding her up and helping her onto the Pegasus.

Katie shook her head in protest. "No Sam you're the new recruit. You need to go first. I'll be fine."

"You will be fine." Aqua pipes in behind her. "But only if you get some rest."

She looked as if she wanted to argue with someone, but seeing that she was outnumbered three to one she backed down and reluctantly got onto the Pegasus.

* * *

The Pegasus's hooves slowly touched down on the ground. I breathed a sigh of relief Piper climbed down first and helped me down. "Woah." I said looking around the camp.

We landed in some fields filled with strawberries, as many as the eye could see. There were around a half dozen teenagers in orange T-shirts that were collecting strawberries. They all stopped and approached as soon as we landed. One took Piper's Pegasus and lead him away to the stables while the others began asking us questions about what happened.

"A new one? What's his name?"

"Has he been claimed yet?"

"How old is he?"

Piper raised her hands and waved them all back. "Guys this is Sam. He hasn't been claimed yet but he's from New York." She turned to me. "How old are you again?"

"15."

Piper froze and whirled around. The other kids too were stunned, the looked at me as if I turned into one of the cyclopes. One even took a nervous step back away. "Whats wrong?" I questioned.

"Its nothing Sam." Piper assured me, placing a hand on my arm. Her voice was so calm and sweet that it made be believe her. But I still noticed all the nervous looks they were giving me and frowned. "It's just that, it's uncommon for someone to be that old yet and not receive a sign from their parents yet."

"Oh." I said, feeling my spirits deflate as she spoke. I always held a deep resentment to my father, abandoning my and my mom while she struggled to make ends meet between taking care of me and her job. And now apparently he was late to even announce himself.

Piper sensed my anger and offered a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. Once you arrive here you'll be claimed soon. I know from experience." A few of the camper kids snickered and exchanged smiles amongst themselves.

"What happened with you?" I asked, looking at the other kids.

Piper blushed a bit and looked away shyly. "I'd rather not say." She began to lead me away from the fields towards the cabins. There were roughly around twenty of them arranged in a horseshoe sort of pattern. I recognized it as an Omega, the final letter in the Greek Alphabet. As we walked, Piper began pointing out the various cabins. Though I probably could have told them apart just by sight. The largest, marble like temple was Zeus, the metal bomb shelter that was surrounded by barbed wire was Ares.

"Now let's get you settled."


	3. Chapter 3

**Sam's POV**

"So this is where I'll be staying?" I said, scanning the room and taking in everything that I see. From the outside it looked like the most dull and unremarkable building in camp. It looked like an ordinary cabin with brown paint that was chipped and faded. The only thing unique about it was the Caduceus hanging from the door."

Inside it was cramped with kids, the youngest being nine and the oldest seventeen. Because of that, the place was a complete mess, snack packets and soda were scattered on the ground with clothes. The sides were lined with a dozen bunk beds were also a messy.

"Yup." Piper replied and patted me on the shoulder. She didn't at all fazed at the chaos. "Since Hermes is the God of Travellers, the cabin is obligated to accept those Half-Bloods who are unclaimed."

"It looks…safe. I guess?"

Piper stifled a giggle and patted me on the shoulder. "Lets see you say that again at dinner." She raised her voice so that everyone can here. "So everyone, this is your newest bunkmate Sam."

One kid looked at me uncertainly. "Regular or undetermined."

"Undetermined."

This caused a collective groan from everyone in the cabin. "Awwww, not another one."

"Seriously?"

"I thought we were passed this."

"Guys I'm trying to sleep!" Someone shouted angrily. Katie rose from her bed, her browm hair a mess as she rubbed her eyes before glaring at everyone. "The next person who talks will lose a kidney."

With that, she buried her head into her pillow and promptly fell asleep. Piper stayed and helped me get settled. She looked around for an unused bunk, which was hard given how messy all of them looked.

Eventually she found one and fixed the sheets for me. "Um. Here you go."

I smiled and set down my few possessions, just my backpack filled with school books, and my wallet. Though after noticing the evil looks the Hermes kids had I decided to take my wallet with me. "Thanks again."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you have some toiletries." Piper assured me and looked around before shouting. "Conor, go get Sam some extra toiletries from the camp store."

An elfish looking guy grinned and ran off. Piper shook her head and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I hope he bothers leaving money on the counter."

The other campers seemed to have lost interest in us and now went back to talking or doing whatever is was they were doing before we came in. Part of me was a little disappointed at that. I was hoping to get to know some of the other campers, but the other was just relieved that they stopped eyeing all my stuff.

Another guy suddenly came running in. This one I recognized from all the pictures Katie kept in her locker and cellphone, from his spiky cinnamon hair and his golden amber eyes. It was Ryan Colt, Katie's boyfriend.

"Where is she?" He demanded frantically, panic filled his voice as he scanned the room. One kid pointed towards her bunk and Ryan practically flew there, grabbing the daughter of Hermes and pulled her close. "Katie, Katie are you ok?"

He held her tightly and nuzzled her. "Sleep." She muttered and said quietly, soon dozing off.

That seemed to relieve him somewhat as he gently set her down and stared at us. His gaze was like ice and practically screamed death. It caused everyone to back away nervously. "What the hell happened!"

Two campers suddenly nudged me forward, causing me to stumble a bit as Ryan waited expectantly for me to explain. I took a deep breath and quickly ran down everything that happened. Those amber eyes bored into me and seemed to force me not to leave out a single detail.

When I finished Ryan bit back a snarl. "So she got hurt trying to take you to camp."

I wanted to say something as a retort but my lips were dry and I couldn't form any words. I wondered how Katie wasn't terrified of him. Thankfully Piper came to my rescue and touched Ryans arm.

"Ryan." She said gently and shook her head. "You know that isn't fair. Katie knew the risks if this mission and Sam did everything to help."

"I know." He admitted, seeming to calm down. He faced me and sighed. "Listen kid, I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"It's alright." I nodded.

Ryan seemed satisfied with that and turned back to watch over Katie. "Have you taken Sam to see Chiron yet?"

Piper slapped her forehead. "Oh ya, I completely forgot about that. Come on, let's take you to see Chiron."

She grabbed me and lead me outside towards a huge farmhouse at the center of camp. "I'm sorry about Ryan. He's never really had a lot of friends before coming to here so he's really protective of the ones he has. But he's a good person."

"He really cares about her doesn't he." I nodded in agreement. Despite myself I feel a small smile at the sight of him sitting by her side. "Do you have anyone like that?"

The daughter of Aphrodite stopped suddenly, causing me collide right into her back. Her face was bright red as she fanned her cheeks. "Why would you ask that?" She asked, her voice becoming shrill. "Did Katie mention something like that?"

"Katie didn't say a thing." I assured her and raised my hands defensively. A tiny blushed formed on my lips as I couldn't meet her eye. "I was just wondering if you did. Since your such a nice girl."

Piper continued to blush and seemed a little uncomfortable with the question. "Well I don't, so can you just drop the topic?"

I nodded quickly and continued walking. "Right. I'm sorry." I said quietly. The two of us walked towards the farmhouse. It was four stories high and had a bright baby blue color with a white trim. On the roof there was a bronze eagle weather vane with wind chimes. As a breeze blew at the chimes suddenly transformed to a group of girls in with light green skin and simple dresses who dance around against the wind.

On the porch there were two people seated around a table and playing a card game of some sorts. One was a red cheeked, guy that looks like he was raised in a trailer park. He was dressed in a purple hawaiian shirt and shorts. The other was a middle aged man with thinning brown hair, though his bushy eyebrows and beard more than made up for it. In his tweed jacket and slacks he looked like a highschool teacher. I noticed he was on a wheelchair.

"Hello there Chiron, Mr. D. This is our newest arrival. Sam." Piper said, introducing me to the pair. Trailer park guy simply grunted noncommittally as he kept his eyes on his cards and only waved one hand holding a can of diet coke.

The teacher for his part smiled and moved forward, not his wheelchair. My eyes widened as the chair started to unfold. He stepped out and I did a double take. As if this wheelchair bound guy walking wasn't weird enough, instead of legs he had a set of four brown hooves and horse legs.

In fact his entire body from the waist down was that of a horse's body. Noticing my shocked expression, Piper leaned forward and whispered. "Chiron is a Centaur."

"Ya, I think I noticed that." I replied.

The centaur man stretched his legs and dropped down from the porch and smiled warmly at me as a greeting. "Hello there my boy. I'm sure you must have many questions to why you are here. But first let me introduce myself. I am Chiron, trainer of Half-bloods."

"My name is Sam."

"Oh jolly good for you." Mr. D said and placed several cards down. "Now come on Chiron, it's your move."

"In a moment." Chiron said patiently, his face suddenly became serious as his brows furrowed. "Now Katie mentions you were attacked by someone before she brought you here? Do you have any idea who it was?"

I shook my head.

"Well was there at least anything you found distinctive about him? A single eye, snake for hair? Anything like that? Katie already gave a description regarding the man but I just wanted to get your side of it as well."

Again, I shook my head.

Chiron seemed a little disappointed but didn't press me any further. "Very well, but worry not. I've already sent a group of heroes to hunt down your attacker. If he has is still in New York city, rest assured we will find him."

That last bit was reassuring to hear. I nodded and smiled and him. I decided I liked this guy. "Thank you Chiron. But I have to ask, while I am in this camp what will I be doing?"

"Well you will be doing what everyone does here in camp. Train to be a hero. To go on quests and fight monsters. That would include swordplay, studying Greek mythology, capture the flag-" Chiron said, though his voice started to trail off as his gaze shifted to something above my head.

Piper was also staring, she looked speechless. "Oh my." Was all she could manage to say. Even Mr. D glanced up from his cards. He looked in my direction and then simply shrugged and returned to his cards.

"What, is there something on me?" I asked, beginning to panic. I swatted at my head and glanced up, slowly stopping as I noticed what they were staring at. A harp was floating above my heads surrounded by golden flames. It was so bright that I could barely look at it.

I tried to move away from it but it continued to hover above my head, floating several inches from my head. Chiron was the first to recover. He bows his head down respectfully. "All hail our newest hero. Sam, son of Apollo, sun god and god of music and medicine."

Piper bows down as well, dropping to one knee. "That's how you know who your godly parent is." She said, looking up with a slight smile on her face.

I give her a shaky smile as the harp vanished.

* * *

"So Piper comes out of the pink mist, now in white dress." Katie grinned, finishing her story. Even though most of her cabin mates had been there to see it for themselves, and those who hadn't had undoubtedly heard about it, they all still erupted in laughter.

I joined in and shook my head slightly Conor, they guy Piper sent out a while ago winked and handed me a ziploc bag of toiletries and what appears to be about fifty dollars cash. I don't know where he got the money be I made a mental note to hand it over to Chiron later.

Even though I was claimed by Apollo, Chiron decided to wait until tomorrow to transfer me to my new cabin and siblings. Half-siblings. Katie still hasn't gotten around to fully explaining the whole relations thing.

"Alright, eat up slugger." Ryan said and held up a plate filled with some Filipino dish I never heard of. He got a spoonful of rice and beef, holding it up to his girlfriend.

Katie seemed a little annoyed, but ate it nonetheless. "Come on Ry, I can feed myself."

"Then why did Chiron tell me to take care you while you recover." He smirked and booped her nose.

"Because your clingy." She replied, smearing some sauce on his cheek. He chuckled and wiped face. "And because you don't want to sit alone in the Hades table."

As she said that I glanced towards the empty obsidian table located by the shadows of a pillar. From what I heard, there was one other Hades kid, but he spends his meals either in the cabin or with his boyfriend in the Apollo table.

Apparently it was taboo for Zeus, Hades and Poseidon to have children. But that didn't stop Poseidon from having a set of twins on his table. I wonder if Zeus had any kids.

But aside from them, Hera, and Artemis, (Who from what I got, had a group of maidens who used her cabin from time to time when they visit.) the other twenty or so tables were occupied with at least a dozen campers in each one. From my count there was over a hundred and fifty campers.

As a result the whole dining area was filled with the noise of laughter, talking and eating. Everyone kept to their own table on the threat of pain and death, all except Ryan who had permission and his brother who everyone was scared of.

For camp food, the grub they served here was excellent. The nature spirits who cooked the food seemed to always know what the campers wanted. The goblets used for drinking magically filled up with your beverage of choice. I got beer battered fish and chips with iced tea.

As the meal drew to a close a conch horn was blown somewhere and Chiron galloped up to the middle of the dining area and called for silence. Everyone suddenly stopped whatever they were doing and turned to him.

A Satyr trotted behind him carrying a big glass bowl filled with little folded pieces of paper. "As you all know, our newest arrival Sam Johnson was attacked by someone prior to arriving to camp." He gestured to me with his hand. I waved awkwardly at the crowd staring at me.

"Although not an uncommon thing, I have reason to believe that this was no ordinary monster. But fear not for Clarisse La Rue and Mike Brusilov have volunteered to lead a team after the attacker. The second thing is tonight's border patrol." Chiron dug his hand into the bowl and pulled out a fistful of papers. He began to place some back until he had only six left.

Quickly unfolding and reading them he said. "Ryan Colt, Leo Valdez, Perseus and Persephone Jackson, Sam Johnson and Holly Weavers."

The five of them rise to there feet. I was a bit late and stand up a couple seconds late. My cheeks burn bright red as I hear a couple of kids chuckle behind me. Of the five of them I only recognize Ryan. The others were the two kids in the Poseidon table, a Hephaestus kid and one of Piper's sisters.

"The six of you report to the armory to gather your weapons when you are finished with your meal. Please enjoy your meal." Chiron said and galloped away. Everyone returned to their dinner.

I followed after Ryan who began to leave with the others to the armory. Percy opened the door and my jaw dropped at the sight of so many weapons. Entire shelves were taken up and organized to hold different kinds of killing instruments, some ranging from pretty normal to some crazy ones. I picked up a sword with slots cut out on one edge.

"Here." A bow and a quiver of arrows were suddenly shoved into my hands. The Aphrodite girl held them in front of me.

Despite being her sibling, the girl didn't look anything like Piper. She looked like some high school cheerleader with her long blonde hair and stunning blue eyes, though she was toned and muscular like Piper. She was dressed in pink basketball jersey and shorts with matching sneakers. "Since your a son of Apollo I thought that you could use this."

I take the bow and hold it up, trying to get a feel of it. "I've never actually used one of these before." I admitted, taking a glance around at the weapons surrounding me. "Or, anything else here."

The Aphrodite girl held up a sword. "Then you might need this as well. I'm Holly by the way."

"Sam." I reply. The two of us begin walking towards the section for armor after seeing the others do the same. Holly helped find a set my size and began to teach me how to put it on. She herself had a set of pink armor that went with her outfit. "Thank you."

"Its no problem." She smiled and held her spear aloft as the six of us formed up and began to march out. We started from the armory and began to move towards a massive pine tree that stood on the crest of a hill. The tree rose to almost twenty feet in the air, on its lowest branch something shiny caught my eye. It looked to be a sheepskin, but when I took a step closer to get a better look, something around the tree snapped at me.

I stumble back as a dragon snarled and coiled around the tree. "That's Pallas. He guards the golden fleece."

"Right. But if you got that big scary dragon, why do you need to have a border patrol? And what's so special about the fleece or that tree in the first place?"

Everyone suddenly looks really uncomfortable with that question. I blushed as Ryan pulled me aside and shook his head. "That's kind of a sore topic here, but to answer your question, that tree is magical. It creates a barrier around the camp that protects it from monsters. Although Pallas is able to protect it we can never be too careful. Sometimes monsters find a way in the forest."

"Alright." I nodded and we continued on, Holly was now with Persephone and Percy and talking amicably. Ryan continued by himself, leaving me with Leo, the Hephaestus kid.

"So you're the kid who Piper rescued eh?" He grinned and bounced up and down like a phone stuck on vibrate. "I bet she must had told you all about me. Leo Valdez, her best friend."

"Actually she never mentioned you." I say, trying to keep up with the rest of the group. One look at Leo told me that he didn't have any weapons on him as far as I can see. "Where's your weapon?"

Leo adopted a hurt expression on his face when he heard that, though that silly grin on his face was still plainly visible. "Well that stings quite a bit. As for your second question," He patted the pouch of his toolbelt and grinned. "This little thing will provide all the tools I need to protect myself. And if not-"

He snapped his fingers and a tiny tongue of fire formed above his palm, licking his fingers but leaving no signs of burning. I gasped and stared at the orange flames which flicked and sparked. "I have a few skills of my own."

"Thats kind of awesome." I admitted, grinning at him. Leo closed his palm and the flamed disappeared.

"Isn't it." He nodded in agreement, wrapping his arm around me. "Stick with me man and I'll show you the ropes."

The two of us continue to chat as we patrol along the camps magical border. (How they could tell where it started and ended was beyond me.) We formed two columns of three with the Poseidon twins at the head, Holly and Ryan right behind and me and Leo in the back.

We soon crossed the hills towards the forest. Here our lines got closer together as we marched forward. So far we haven't run into any monsters, though everyone kept tight grips on their weapons. Even Leo seemed to have sobered up and reached for his tool belt and produced a hammer seemingly out of thin air.

I pull my sword out from its sheath and peers into the woods. It was dark and easy for something to burst out from the foliage to attack. I look deeper into the gap between two tree, frowning as I could have sworn some of the shadows shifted apart.

Percy suddenly called the group to a stop and raised his sword. "Wait. I hear something." He said and presses a hand to his ear. A groaning sound came from somewhere down. He pointed in one direction and slid down an earth mound he was standing on. I was about to join him but his sister gestured for me to halt.

Persephone was right behind him, ready to spring into action. Neither of them had any torches, but their swords emitted a faint glow that provided enough light for them to see.

"It's all clear." Persephone announced and the rest of us moved down to join them. Percy was kneeling over something and gestured for us to follow. As I got closer I realized that it was a person. A big guy built like a bulldozer was laying on his back, groaning in pain as he held his bloody gut. Over his eyes were a pair of shades that were bent and revealed his brown eyes.

"It's Mike." Holly said from behind. "But where are the others?"

"Clarisse was supposed to be with him. They had an entire squad of Half-bloods with them." Percy said and pulled out a baggie of Ambrosia and feeds Mike a small piece, helping him keep his head up. He gave Mike a few seconds to recover before speaking to him again. "Mike, what happened?"

He gasped and shook his head to compose himself before speaking again. "We found him, the guy who attacked Katie. But he was stronger than I imagined."

"Where are the others?" Percy pressed him, leaning closer. The worry lines on his forehead were plainly visible on his face.

"There were half a dozen of us who went out. Only four of us are left." He had a Russian accent and his voice came out as ragged. "The others are wounded, they fell behind, a little ways south from here. There's somethings out there."

Holly grabbed Mike. "Can you stand. I'll get him to safety."

Everyone nodded and Mike slowly climbed to his feet. He leaned on Holly who staggered back up the way we came. The rest of us continued towards the rest of his group, now our pace quickened to a brisk job.

Soon the sounds of battle became more and more obvious. In a clearing a beefy looking girl with two other godlings stood in the center, bloodied and exhausted.

They stood back to back as they were swarmed by snakes, or at least I thought they were snakes. From the waist down their bodies were that of snakes, though instead of one tail they had two. But above that they had the bodies of women, though they also remained green and scaly.

Each one had a spear and shield as they advanced towards the beleaguered half bloods. Water suddenly burst forward from the creek, grabbing the snake women in the back towards the lake. Persephone grinned and lowered her hands and began to summon the water again while the rest of us charged.

For some reason instead of getting my sword, I felt my hands reach for the bow slung on my back and notched an arrow. The process somehow felt natural for me, even though I never did this before something guided my hands. I took aim at the nearest snake thing and let the arrow fly.

I followed the arrow as it flew and felt a sense of satisfaction as it thudded against the gorgons forehead, dropping her in an instant. I drew more arrows and began to fire them, managing to drop two more of the monsters before one carrying a curved sword charged at me.

She swung that blade at me. It nearly decapitated me had I not pivoted my head to the side and the blade flew over, chipping a tree. My hand flew to my sword and pulled it out. I managed to parry her next swing and shove her back with a swift kick to her chest.

The woman hissed in anger and prepared to charge again, but this time I moved forward and swung my sword. The snake woman's head dropped to the ground and broke into dust.

Meanwhile the others were making mincemeat of the other monsters attacking. Percy and Persephone were practically one mind in two bodies, slashing at any monster that got too close. Leo covered the other demigod by hurling fireballs. Ryan was a nightmare incarnate, his spear shredding through anything that got in his path, almost like they were shadows.

Soon every one of those monsters were nothing but piles of ash. The beefy girl approached Percy and gave him a shove. "We didn't need your help Jackson."

He smirked at her. "I missed you too Clarisse."

She looked over the group and a look of concern crossed her face. "Did you run into my brother?"

"He's fine." Persephone assured her. "Holly is taking him back to camp. But what happened?"

One of the other kids spoke up. "It was awful. We found the guy trying to cross Brooklyn bridge and tried to stop him, but it was a trap. A bunch of the other pedestrians suddenly turned into monsters and started attacking us."

"And lemme guess, the guy was able to escape?" Ryan inquired.

The Half-blood turned to him, his eyes had a crazy look in them that caused me to take a step back. "Escape? We were lucky to escape. That thing isn't your ordinary monster. It was almost as powerful as a god. The only reason we were able to escape was because it was holding back and let its minions do all the fighting."

A deathly silence fell over the camp. Everyone now stared at Clarisse and her band. If what they were saying was true then any of them coming back was a miracle. Percy was the first to recover and looked around. "Then we better get you out of here. Come on guys."

These words knocked us back to reality and I helped one of the half-bloods walk as we all started to move again. We began to climb up the dirt mound once again just as another sound came throughout the forest. This wasn't a monster's roar and was more of a deep bellowing sound.

"What was that?" I asked nervously, pulling my bow out as the others got in a circle.

"That's his pet." Clarisse cursed angrily as she punched a tree with all her strength. She held up her spear, the tip crackling with electricity. "The Cretan bull."


	4. Chapter 4

**Ryan's POV**

Nobody had any time to react just as a bull came barreling through the trees, bellowing loudly enough to be heard a mile away. "Scatter!" I yell, rolling out of the way.

The others didn't need to be told twice as they each tried to scramble in different directions as the bull charged forward, swinging its heads and letting its three foot long horns slice the air. The bull slowed its charge to a halt as it started to turn, giving me a good look at it.

It was roughly the size of an SUV, covered in a layer of thick leathery skin that was wrinkled and gray. Its horns were ivory colored and pointed forward. When it turned in my direction I caught sight of its red eyes that burned with animalistic malevolence.

Suddenly a torrent of water struck its side. Persephone growled and funneled more water out from the ground like a geyser. She advanced forward, her face in a tight grimace as she struggled to maintain her attack. Percy came out of nowhere and jabbed at its back with Riptide.

The Cretan bull snorted and bucked its hind legs, throwing Percy aside as it charged towards his sister. The water barely even slowed it down as it lowered its head to charge. Persephone barely got out of the way as it trampled the bushes behind her.

"Ares!" Clarisse shouted defiantly, raising her spear high. The tip was supposed to be electrified, but now barely a spark came out. She and the other Half-Bloods with her got into a defensive stance and prepared to meet the bulls charge head on. Leo was beside them, trying to push Clarisse away while Sam provided covering fire with his bow.

"Clarisse get out of here!" Leo shouted, looking as Sam notched another arrow. He held up a finger and suddenly the tip caught fire. The arrow flew and grazed the Bulls side, leaving a line of red flesh where the flames burnt it.

The beefy girl shook her head stubbornly, trying to step forward but nearly falling over. Finally, she nodded and slowly began to move away from the fight. Sam tried to reach for another arrow from his quiver and cursed as he was forced to stagger towards the inside as the bull charged forward. "What the hell is that thing?" He shouted, pulling a sword out from his side.

"That's the Cretan bull," I shouted back, hurling my spear while the bull was distracted. The polearm buried itself into its side. The wound looked shallow, though it was more than enough to get its attention. Ok, I didn't think this through.

I take a step back until the tree shadow was right over me and close my eyes. When I open them I was on the other side of the clearing. The bull's horns were trapped in between two trees and it was struggling to pull it free.

"Nows our chance." Persephone climbed to her feet and readied herself. "Attack!"

She and Leo rushed forward, going in opposite directions. Persephone stayed just out of range from bulls attack, clashing her sword against her shield and probing its defenses. Sam had somehow managed to climb up a tree and was sniping at its flank with arrows. Leo launched fireballs and deflected its legs and tail with a ball peen hammer. He pulled my lance free and threw it at me. "Ryan!"

I caught it with both arms and leveled tip until it faced the Bulls back. Before I could charge again the bull got free, one horn snapped against the tree and trotted around. Its tail lashed out and caught Persephone full on the face while its bulk crashed into Leo, sending his tumbling and nearly trampled him.

"Percy!" I shouted to the son of Poseidon just as he was starting to get up. I motioned towards my spear and then pointed at the bull's legs. Thankfully he understood and leaped to his feet, Riptide in hand and ran to help the others.

The Cretan bull slammed itself repeatedly against the tree Sam was positioned on and shook him loose. The kid fell a foot away from the bull and wasted no time trying to run away.

"Hey, beefboy," I yelled, willing the shadows near me to turn into a whip. It wrapped around the bulls left hind leg and dragged it down as it ran. I withdrew the whip and struck again, landing a slash against the Bulls face. It bellowed in outrage, getting to its feet and meeting my gaze before charging once again.

I planted my feet firmly on the ground and held my spear ready. Taking a few deep breaths I jabbed it forward threateningly. It was only about five feet away when Percy came out of nowhere and sliced at its front legs. The Cretan bull roars in agony as its legs buckle underneath it, sliding against the dirt until it comes to a stop a few inches from me.

It tries feebly to gore me with its horn but a well-placed kick knocks it back. I place my foot on its head and bury my spear into its brain. The bull lets out one more mournful shout before it melts into dust, leaving only a single horn.

The others get to their feet and surround the dust pile. "What is the Cretan bull anyway?" Leo asked, helping Persephone to her feet.

I make a face and kick the sand around. "According to legend, it was supposed to be used as a sacrifice to Poseidon from King Minos."

"And something tells me that he never went through it." Persephone glowered. She and her brother share a look at the mention of their father.

I nodded and picked up the horn. "Instead of going through with it, Minos decided that the bull was far too nice to simply kill and decided that he wanted to keep it. Poseidon then cursed Minos's wife to have an insatiable lust for the bull. Nine months later she had a baby called the Minotaur."

Sam wrinkled his face in disgust. "That's disturbing."

"Yes, yes it is."

Once it was clear that everyone was alright, Percy gestured towards camp. "Come on guys. We have to head back and tell Chiron what happened."

* * *

Everybody gathered around the Big House's rec room, the counselor from every cabin with the exception of Ares with Clarisse still in the infirmary. In her place, she sent one of her half-brothers who was busy sharpening his sword. Aside from them everybody from border patrol was here too.

They all chattered nervously among themselves about what happened. I tap my foot impatiently, waiting for Chiron to show up. Whatever attacked Katie had just sent its pet to kill a team of Half- Bloods and nearly succeeded.

My impatience soon became too much to bear as was about to get up when the door creaked open and Chiron wheeled himself in. I slowly planted my butt back on the bean bag chair and watched as all the conversations came to a halt "I'm sorry for keeping you'll waiting, I just checked up on our friends in the infirmary."

"How are they?" Annabeth asked, her lips frowning with concern.

"Their conditions are stable now, they will live but need several days to recover," Chiron explained.

Everyone seemed relieved at hearing this news as the tension seems to disappear somewhat. "Well, that still doesn't answer what will we do about this guy?" I interrupt, leaping to my feet. This guy just killed a couple of us and sent his minion to camp." And nearly killed my girlfriend. I wanted to add.

"Yes, that is what we are here to discuss," Chiron assured me calmly, but forcefully enough that it got me to shut up. "Ryan, Leo, if you please run as through what happened last night."

I meet his gaze and give him a small nod to proceed. The two of us begin to take turns recalling what happened last night. I didn't bother to leave out any details. By the time we finished, any chatter had completely stopped. I scanned the room, eyeing each one of the Counselors.

Piper nervously tapped her fingers against her chair, Travis bit his lip, scowling angrily at his feet. He makes being a jokester, but he cared greatly about Katie. The Ares kid kept a tight grip on his sword until his knuckles turned white. Annabeth was probably the one who hid her shock the most. She had an impressive poker face, but her gray eyes were stormy.

"So that still doesn't answer my question. Who was this guy and what will you do about him?" I tap my foot impatiently.

Chiron sighed and wheeled himself to the circle. "Well I have a few ideas of whom he might be, but I pray that I'm wrong."

"Try me," Annabeth said, folding her arms together.

"He could possibly a rogue titan." He said, shaking his head. "They are the only beings powerful enough to match the description. "

A collective gasp came out from the rest of the counselors. The Titans nearly brought Olympus to its knees just a few years ago until they were finally defeated. If one of them was still out there and fighting, well I didn't want to think of that.

Piper was the first one to recover from the shock and cleared her throat. "But you said all the remaining Titans were trapped in Tartarus."

"All the major ones were trapped in Tartarus." He corrected and shook his head. "But some of the Titans children, the lesser ones were able to escape, going into hiding. And if one has resurfaced, perhaps it is time to consult the oracle."

Others agreed silently as Rachel Elizabeth Dare made her way inside. The fiery haired girl was dressed in a maroon sweatshirt and paint-stained jeans, not exactly the most regal outfit but everyone knew her powers of prophecy.

Chiron held her steady by the shoulders as she closed her eyes, softly chanting words like a prayer, her body swaying back and forth. We all leaned closer towards her just as her eyes suddenly snapped open, now her normally light green eyes changed. Her eyes had a more sickly green color that fully covered her pupils. When she opened her mouth a green mist trickled out and wrapped around her body, causing her everyone to jump back in surprise.

Finally, she spoke, but Rachel's voice was gone, replaced by an ancient tone. Like there were three voices trying to speak at once.

 _Six heroes shall sail to the lands long forgotten._

 _To find the child of Krios and Eurybia begotten._

 _Halt the evil being reborn._

 _Else the realm of the gods is ruined and torn_.

As she said those last lines, the mist flew up Rachel Elizabeth Dare's body and caused her to drop to a bean bag chair that Chiron had smartly placed behind her. "Krios and Eurybia," Annabeth muttered, tapping at the side of her head. "I remember Krios was in the Titan war, but he's in Tartarus, but Eurybia was his wife, the Titaness of mastery of the sea."

"Aye that's true," Chiron added, looking over Rachel and placing a hand on the mortals forehead. "And if that is truly the case then this is the same Pallas who was there, son. The Titan of warfare. Now all that remains is to choose who will go."

"I'll go," I said without a moment's hesitation, standing up from my seat. I looked at the rest them, daring any of them to say anything to contradict me but none spoke up and some were even nodding in agreement.

Sam looked around nervously, seeing no one else standing up he slowly raised his hand. He looked at me imploringly. "I can go too. Katie by that titan got injured because she was trying to bring me to safety."

I nodded reassuringly. "If you wanna go then you're more than welcome."

"Me too." Piper stood up and folded her arms. She might have added a little bit of charm speak in her voice as I found it hard not to agree with her.

"That's three, we still need three more for the quest." Leo pointed out.

"If I may children," Chiron said. "This is no normal quest, hunting a Titan should not be taken likely. I think it may be best that only those heroes who have experience fighting this titan to go on this quest."

The Ares kid speaks up. "There might be something else to consider guys. For the past few days, more and more monsters have been popping up and attacking border patrol."

Percy rubbed chin. "If that's the case then some of us should stay here. I'll stay."

"If Katie's well enough, we could bring here too." I knew that Katie would love to get a chance to get back at Pallas.

"That's four of you. What about the other two?" Chiron asked. "And who will be the one to lead this quest."

"Well, it looks like Ryan's already stepped up to the task." Piper smiled at him.

Behind her, the other counselors were nodding in agreement. I looked around, surprised that anyone would agree to that. I never lead a quest before. "Thank you, guys, I'll do my best. As for the other two, well I've got a few ideas but I need to wait and see how it would go."

* * *

"Congratulations Ry, you're finally leading your own quest." Katie grinned and leaned on me as we walked through the woods. She had recovered quite nicely from her injuries and now the only signs of them were the smiley face band-aid on her face. She still had to wear some bandages around her stomach, but would otherwise be fit to go on the quest.

It's been two days since the prophecy was given and so far, things have gone as predicted. More monsters have continued to attack the camp, with growing frequency. So far I've only got four members for my quest, possibly five depending on how this turns out.

I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head. "Ya, it's pretty cool, though I'm not sure if they'll listen to me." I look at her when I said that.

If Katie noticed the implication she didn't show it. Instead, she simply shrugged and walked towards the lake, jumping on a rock and trying to balance it. I didn't bother stopping her. Of course, barely out of the infirmary and she's already trying to injure herself. "Don't worry about that Ry, you'll do great."

"Thanks." I smiled back and bopped her nose. It felt as if a heavy weight was lifted off my shoulders when I heard her say that. "I hope this girl is a good healer as you say she is."

"The best." She assured me and leaped off the rock, landing perfectly on the ground like a gazelle. Katie made her way towards the water and threw a rock in. "Aqua come on Mike's here."

About ten feet from the lake, the water started to bubble like a hot tubs jets. A waterspout shot up like a geyser and in the center was the water nymph.

"Where?" She cried out excitedly and spotted me. A disappointed frown formed on her lips when she saw me. "That's not Mike."

"I know," Katie smirked and stuck her tongue out, only to receive a face full of water as Aqua splashed her face. She grunted and wiped her face, letting it drip off and soaking her hoodie. "But we need your help."

"You look healed up alright," she noted. "Is your boyfriend sick?"

My girlfriend shook her head. "Nothing like that. We need your help for a quest."

The Nymph shook her head with a laugh, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I don't do quests, Katie. You know that as well as anyone."

"But we need a healer." I protested, folding my hands. "And with monster attacks increasing, the camp will need every Apollo kid they can get."

"Forget about it, I'm not going on any quest. If I leave my lake even for a day the monsters will come and take over it." Aqua shook her head fervently, letting her brown hair shake in every direction. She walked in a circle around us, throwing up her hands as she started to rant. "Do you know how often they take a bath? Never! Gods I'll be so polluted."

Katie stepped forward, mouthing the words; I'll handle this. "What if we somehow protect your lake while you were gone? Would you help us then?"

Aqua stopped talking for a moment and looked at her. "You have my attention now."

"I can talk to Chiron," Katie explained slowly. "I can try and convince him to divert some of the border patrols to watch your lake as well so that none of the monsters lay a hand on your waters."

She seemed to be genuinely considering it, but after a moment of thinking, she still doesn't seem convinced. "I don't know-"

"Mike might be there." Katie interrupted her with a grin as she played her trump card. She watched as Aqua's expression changed from doubt, to surprise and finally excitement.

"Are you serious?" Her voice rose several notches as she clapped her hands happily.

Katie gave me a look and barely suppressed a laugh. I shrugged calmly. "He might if he's recovered enough. So what do you say?" I try to smile as best I can and offer my hand to shake.

The Niaid looked at my outstretched hand and thought for a moment. "You promised me two things, protection for my lake and Mike going. The way I see it, if you can confirm both of them, then I'll join. How's that sound?"

Katie and I exchanged glances. Something told me that this was the best I could hope for from here. "Fine."

* * *

"He's actually recovering quite nicely." Will Solace explained, looking at his clipboard with all his medical stuff as he spoke. "As far as I can tell he's sustained no permanent damage and could make a full recovery within a day or two."

"That's great news. Could we see him?" I smiled and walked with him into the infirmary where the rest of Clarisse's quest team were held. Most got off relatively easy with a few broken bones or fractures and were back on their feet in a day.

Mike seemed to have gotten hit the worst, spending the better part of this week bedridden. The Russian Demigod had a cracked rib, a broken arm, and a bruised stomach.

I had initially preferred to take Clarisse along instead. She was in better shape and just as tough as Mike. But she was out of blood and could be more of a liability than her even-tempered brother.

"Sure, but don't stay too long," Will answered, turning around and beginning to walk away. That left only me, Katie and Aqua with the patient.

Mike was seated on a hospital bed, alert and upright even while eating a pudding cup. He noticed us and smiled, gesturing for us to sit. "I wasn't expecting visitors today. Come and sit."

"Hey there Mike." Aqua was the first to speak up as she pulled a seat next to him. She smiled and rested her hand on the railing. "Just checking up on you."

He smiled back. "Thanks. I'm doing well by the way. Sorry I won't be able to make it to our Wednesday meetup."

"That's ok, we can have it here." She reached into her bag and pulled out a hardbound copy of Twilight. "I brought your book."

Katie gasped and burst out laughing. She fell on the ground and pounded her fist against the floorboards. Mike frowned and folded his arms. "It's way more mature than your silly men in costumes."

My girlfriend gasped in horror as she stood up, all humor was gone from her face. "I'll have you know that the Avengers is an amazing series and I'll tolerate no insults."

Mike reached for a wooden crutch and hefted it like a baseball bat while Katie started to crack her knuckles.

"Anyway!" I stepped between them. My eyes widened as they nearly came to blows. "We're also here because we were wondering if you might consider joining our quest to stop him. I know it's a big ask since you're still injured and you have every right to say no-"

"I'm in." He said looking at his nails.

"What!" We all shouted in unison.

He looked at us as if it were obvious and shrugged. "Ya, this Pallas guy seems really dangerous and you'll need to stop him. I suppose you could use the help."

"Besides." He added with an angry growl. Mike swung his crutch around like a sword and flexed his muscles. Aqua blushed and looked ready to swoon. "I'm looking forward to pounding his face in."

"That's awesome." I grinned at clapped him on the back. "We can leave by the end of the week."

For once in this whole week actually felt excited. The first step of the quest was done and it felt good to have some direction now. And looking at the rest of my quest mates around the room, it made the quest seem all the more possible.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sam's POV**

A small crowd had gathered at the river to see us of. It wasn't a large group, probably no more than twenty people were there. Still, it was nice to see that they would miss us. Chiron was in the center of the crowd with his bow raised in a salute. Among the rest of the people there was Percy and Persephone, Travis and Connor Stoll, my half brother Will Solace, Clarisse and a few of Piper's siblings.

They all waved and cheered for us as we made our way up the gangplank onto the Trireme _Zeus's bolt_ which was moored on the shores of the river. I glanced at the three decks of oars. There was no way the six of us could possibly row all of them. Mike seemed to notice me staring and laughed. "Don't worry about that. This ship was designed by the Hephaestus Cabin so you don't to worry about rowing."

I nodded and ran my hand across the deck rail. I've only seen pictures of these ship and _Zeus's Bolt_ was remarkably accurate to them, even to the bronze ram. The rest of the crew was already on board. Ryan stood behind the captain's wheel. Aqua was chatting with some fellow Naiad in the river, giggling at something they said while Katie and Piper were talking to each other.

"Ready to sail everyone?" Ryan shouted.

Kati smirked, giving him a thumbs up. "Hello sailor."

He rolled his eyes and gave her a mock salute. The rest of us nodded as well and Aqua nodded to her Naiad friends who summoned a small wave that blew the Trireme forward. As they do, the oars begin to move row forward in perfect synchronization.

I stared over the edge, marvelling at them. "How do you think their doing that? Some sort of magic?"

"No magic." Ryan said from his spot. He held up an Xbox controller. "This is pretty much controlling the whole ship."

I decided not to questions that and just turned back to the girls while Mike disappeared below decks. They were both dressed in shorts, though Katie was still wearing her hoodie even in the summer heat. "So what do you girls wanna do?" I asked casually.

Katie frowned slightly, her brow knitted together as she cleared her throat. It was unusual to see her this serious. "Well if this really is a Titan we're dealing with, it wouldn't be the worst idea to get some training done."

Piper nodded silently in agreement. "Ya, I could use some work with my sword." I admitted quietly. "How will we do this?"

"Well Katie is the best sword fighter among the three of us so why don't we soar against her?" Piper suggested before adding quietly with a smile. "It would also help us with our teamwork."

I step closer to Piper and give her a fist pump. She pulled a jagged sword free from its scabbard while I drew my short sword and held it up. The daughter of Hermes took a step back and unzipped her jacket before tossing it aside. I was surprised to see that she was pretty muscular in a wiry sort of way. Back in school Katie was almost never seen without her hoodie, though she always struck my as kind of scrawny.

She rolled her shoulders and pulled her own sword. It was a strange blade that grew larger towards the point and with a curved hilt. She flipped it in her hands before getting in a defensive position.

Me and Piper exchanged a look before charging in. I brought my sword down to a downwards stroke while Piper swung hers in a low arc. Katie parried my attack and rolled back. She grinned and struck at the center of my chest, but as I moved to block it she feigned and moves and hits my legs with the flat of her blade.

Pain dulls my knee and I tumble to the ground. Piper moves in and swings her sword at Katie, trying to force her back. "Get up." She urged and raised her sword just as her opponent lunged and towards her with a flurry of quick thrusts. Piper lost balance and Katie's sword flashed at her. Without thinking I moved forward and blocked it with my own shortsword.

As our swords locked, the two of us looked in surprise. Katie nodded in approval before kicking me in a stomach. I double over in pain and bump my head on the ground.

Katie backed away several steps and moved her bolo with one hand. She sprinted forward as the Daughter of Aphrodite and leveled her sword defensively. At the last second Katie's sneakers sprouted their wings and flew above her.

She grinned and swept her leg around just as Piper glanced back in confusion. She screamed and tumbled over the ground while Katie stood over us triumphantly. "Practice over." Katie said as she rested her sword on her shoulder.

With that she helped the two of us to our feet. "Nice job though you guys."

"Don't patronize us." I growled angrily. Though seeing the look on Katie's face I instantly regret it.

"I meant it." She replied a bit more forcefully. "You guys worked together and watched each other's backs. In a fight that's the most important thing you have."

It did help me feel a little better. I got to my feet and picked up my shortsword. "Ready for round two?" I asked Piper whose eye were filled with determination as she readied her own sword. Katie smirked and charged at us again.

* * *

"Come on, we're almost there." Piper assured me as I leaned on her for support, half limping half hopping down to the dining area. Dinner was held down on one of the lower decks where the third set of rows were held. Thankfully since there was no need for rowers the place was pretty spacious. An oak dinner table big enough for ten was set up in the middle of the room and filled with food.

The others were already there and waiting for us, none had started eating yet which was a nice gesture. "Here, let me help you there." Aqua said, getting up and helping me sit down.

"How's your leg doing?" Katie asked, with a sheepish grinned and a blush on her face.

I flexed the muscles there and managed not to wince as I felt the vaguely numb pain. During one of our training fights I leapt in to take a blow as Katie tried to sneak up on Piper. The guard her blade hit me in the thigh hard. "Pretty good." I replied.

"Thanks again for doing taking that blow for me." Piper smiled kindly. A wild flush spread across my face. I quickly looked away and sat down as she took her seat next to me. A wide spread of food was spread out all around us, ranging from pizza, burgers, vegetables to some more traditional Russian and Filipino food for Mike and Katie respectfully.

I took a leg of chicken and nibbled on it as everyone else started to dig in. The six of us ate in silence for a short while before Aqua finally cleared her throat. "So guys, do you have any idea where we're sailing to?"

Everyone turned to Ryan who had a mouthful of pizza. As the quests leader he had final say on what to do. He looked at each of them before taking a drink of water. "Well I was thinking abou it actually and I did have a few ideas of where we might go. The biggest possibility is the Sea of Monsters."

That name sent a chill down my spine. Sea of Monsters. That couldn't possibly sound good. "What makes you think that what we're looking for could be there?" I asked nervously.

"Well that's the only thing worth going to in these directions." Ryan explained calmly, keeping his voice steady even as we sailed to the Sea of Monsters. "All those lands the Greek heroes went to like Circe's island, the clashing rocks. All are part of the Sea of Monsters. It's like the gods, they moved to where civilization was greatest."

"So if the gods are in America, where is the sea?"

Ryan smiled thinly. "The Bermuda Triangle."

On that disturbing note everybody returns to their meal. I looked at my burger and it suddenly seemed less delectable. "Don't worry guys." Piper said suddenly. Her voice soothed me and went a long way into lifting my spirits. "I did this during the journey across the Mare Nostrum. It wasn't as bad as I thought."

"Mare Nostrum?" Mike asked. "What's that?"

"The Atlantic Ocean I guess." She corrected. "The Romans in Camp Jupiter called it the Mare Nostrum. It was for the Prophecy of the Seven with Annabeth, Leo and Jason-" Her voice suddenly trailed off after mentioning that last name. She instead stared at her food and continued to eat.

"Ya, and you guys are the all veterans of other quests right?" Aqua pointed out, trying to keep the optimistic spirit alive. "So we all know what we're doing."

The rest of them nodded in agreement. Slowly as the meal comes to an end, the others start to trickle away. Mike left to his room to do some reading while Aqua dove into the water, Ryan and Katie finally left to her room, leaving just me and Piper. She picked absently at the grilled peppers on her plate.

"Mind watching this for me?" Ryan asked, setting the controller down. He rubbed his eyes sleepily. "If something goes wrong it will vibrate."

"Sure." I replied while the Daughter of Aphrodite nodded wordlessly.

"So umm, what's this Prophecy of the Seven?" I asked, trying to make some small talk. I've seen the pained expression on her face plenty of times before in school. In high school drama this kind of thing happened too often. Heartbreak.

She turned to me, there was an empty look in her eyes as she remained silent. "I just wanted to learn a bit more about this stuff since I'm new here."

Understanding slowly dawned upon her. Piper's expression changed from annoyance to confusion and then to relief. "Well it was a quest made up of seven Half-Blood to sail to Greece in order to stop the giants from uprooting Mount Olympus from its very roots."

"Who where those seven Demigods?" I asked.

Piper began to run down the list while counting with her fingers. "There was me, Percy, Leo who you probably met already. Annabeth a Daughter of Athena, Frank a son or Mars, Hazel a daughter of Pluto and Jason." She paused again. "Son of Zeus."

 _There's that name again_. I noted mentally as I nodded. Slowly Piper began to open up. She talked with a bit more emotion as she explained her adventures with them and even laughed a few times.

It was good to see her mood changing. Eventually I started to join in and laugh as well. When I glanced at my watch I realized how much time had actually passed. "Thanks for all of this. But I think it's time to call it a night." Piper smiled and relaxed onto her chair.

"Agreed." I replied and started to get up. "I'll just make some hot chocolate. Want some?"

'That's sounds great." She said.

Just as I got the stuff out from the cupboard, the table started to shake. I turned around and saw the controller vibrating. Piper's expression was grim and quickly reached for her sword. I set the stuff down and grabbed my bow which was resting on the side. "Hot chocolates gotta wait."

"Get to the upper deck, I'll get the others." Piper urged me. She disappears down the hallway.

I stumbled upstairs, my leg still burning. Slowly I glance around and unsling my bow with an arrow notched. Night had already fallen and all I had for light was a few torches and the stars. Somewhere above me I hear a roar. Quickly swiveling my aim up and looking for the attacker.

I begin to scan the sky for enemy, then something catches my eye. There was a patch of darkness, as if someone was covering the area. I loose my narrow there. Before it strikes through, a column of flames materializes out of nowhere and burns the arrow mid flight.

I watch in horror as the ashes gently drip down to the water.

The beast disappears once again into the night. Cursing, I notch another arrow and look around. A soft snarl caused me to turn around just as a gaping maw appeared overhead. Flames shoot out right towards me-

A watery whip cracked at the fiery pillar and extinguished into a puff of smoke. Aqua growled and pulled her whip back, snapping it towards the creature. The snarl of pain told me that she landed a blow.

"What the hell is that thing?" She shouted just as Mike emerged from the below with a World War II Era rifle. He crouched down and scanned the area just as the others joined it.

"I don't know." I yelled back. Ryan was rapidly pressing buttons on his controller, suddenly the two stuffed wolf heads hanging from one corner started to glow from the eyes and snout. They scanned around the skies, moving like searchlights.

Piper ran to one of the mounted ballistas while the others drew their weapons. We moved in around the ship, trying to secure or get a better view of it. Mike fired into the darkness while Katie flew up into the clouds, sword and dagger in hand.

One of the wolves began to bark loudly as it pivoted its lupine head. It shone a light on one of the strangest creatures I've ever seen. Its body and head resembled a lion, that was normal enough. The weird part was that it had a second head growing beside the lion. This one was of a billy goat while its tail was tail was scaly green like a lizards. And on top of that it had huge leathery bat wings.

"The Chimera!" Aqua shrieked. "Why does it have wings?"

"Some myths say it could fly." Ryan explained and took aim with his spear and tried to nail it when it flew overhead. Behind him Piper was firing the repeater crossbow, screaming as crossbow bolts whizzed over the monster's head.

The Chimera tries to shake the searchlight, pivoting and darting around, but seeing that its cover was blown the monster circled around and unleashed a gust of flames at the ship. Mike danced aside just as fire exploded on the floorboard. Another attack took the sails of the ship.

Ryan cursed and motioned to Aqua who was tried to put the flames out. Katie emerged out of nowhere and nimbly dodged the Chimera's next attack. She flew over and swung her sword towards one of its wings. The beast roared in pain just as its tail caught Katie in the face and sent her tumbling out of the sky. She fell on the deck and rolled to the side.

"Katie!" Ryan shouted and disappeared in a puff of shadows.

Mike ran up beside me and fired his rifle. "Lets clip this monster's wings Sam!"

The Chimera stumbled and struggles to remain flying as there was a nasty gash on its wing from where Katie cut it. It flaps its wing several times in an attempt to gain some altitude. I began to fire arrows while the big Son of Ares fires towards the creature's flanks. The monster swivels around and unleashes more liquid fire that burns our arrows and bullets in its tracks.

"Eat this!" Piper shouted and fired again at it. The monster looked almost annoyed at this and burned it once again, but instead of melting, the bolt exploded and sent the creature falling until it thudded on the deck.

The three of us approached the Chimera's prone form, Aqua joining us as she finished putting out the rest of the fires. Mike kneeled down and pulled his sword out. He prodded it with his blade to check if it was still alive.

It burst into life, leaping to its feet and growling at us. The Chimera's wings were a tattered mess and it tumbled around when it tried to fly. We all slowly closed in on it from every direction. The goat head bayed at me and Mike while it spat out flames towards Aqua who dove out of the way. Her whip changed into a trident which she jabbed angrily at it, trying to force the monster back.

The Chimera hissed and stalked around in a circle, seemingly waiting to see who was the next person to attack. Its heads locked onto Piper who was about to bring her sword up. The lion head prepared to launch another attack but a shield flew out of nowhere like a discuss and slammed into its face. It redirected the lions attack towards the ship's side.

Katie charged in, her sword raised in the air then froze. The Chimera's tail darted out and I realized it wasn't just a tail. At the end was a serpent. It stuck its tongue out and hissed at her. The Daughter of Hermes didn't move, her face had gone pale as death while her sword arm wavered. "No." She whispered fearfully.

Her legs buckled underneath her and she fell to her knees. Mike cursed and picked up the shield. He rolled in front of Katie just as the serpent opened its mouth to spit out venom. Ryan jabbed his spear to the Chimera's side. He drove it deeper and started to twist it. "Get her out of there."

The serpent hissed again, sending droplets of venom flying in all directions. Mike's shield begins to steam and melt as the green liquid begins to melt it. Without thinking I reached for my an arrow from my quiver and rush forward. The serpent turned to me and lashes forward.

I jabbed the arrow down at its head. I don't stop until I hear the thud of it hitting the deck. "Quick hit it while it's pinned down." I shouted and dove back as the monsters turned and regarded me hatefully. It tried to leap forward but falls short.

Several ballista bolts embedded itself into the monsters flank. The Chimera started to slow and let out one mournful mewl before disintegrating into a pile of ash.

I breathed out a sigh of relief as the others lowered their weapons. Kate was curled up into a trembling ball in Ryan's arms who was trying to calm her down. "Shhh, shh its alright they're gone now." He stroked her hair with one hand and with the other held hers. "Breath. Breath."

Once she seemed to calm down, Ryan began to lead her away. "What happened?" I asked, openmouthed. Katie was one of the toughest people I know. I don't think I've ever seen her reduced to a trembling mess like this.

"Katie has a killer fear of snakes." Piper explained calmly, watching sadly as Katie was led downstairs. I nodded solemnly and began to follow after her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sam's POV**

I spotted Katie below decks in her room. She had a blanket draped around her shoulders while Ryan sat at her side and slowly ran his hand down her hair. "Shh, shh." He whispered as he pulled her close. "Hey it's alright the snakes are gone."

She shivered but managed a shaky nod, still Katie was looking a bit better. "Hey mind if I talk to her for a minute?"

Ryan hesitated, not wanting to leave her but nodded regardless. On his way out he clapped me on the shoulder and marched out. I sat down on the bed beside her and awkwardly patted her. "So you're afraid of snakes huh?" I asked while Katie just stared at me blankly as if to say _That's your way of cheering me up dude?_

"Well I'm not that surprised I guess. I still remember that trip to Central Park Museum." I chuckled.

This time a smile crept up on Katie's face as she remembered and smiled a bit. "I remember that." She said, sitting back down and relaxing.

"Ya, if I recall one of my friends tried to drag you into the reptile house in the zoo and you broke his nose. You said Ewww gross their slimy and limp just like you are down there." I said imitating her voice. "Damn how much detention did you get for that?"

"Five weeks. And I had to wash Mrs. Baxter's car afterwards." She giggled. "But it was all worth it cause I was able to knock some sense into Grayson."

"You know he had a crush on you after that?" Sam pointed out.

Katie shrugged nonchalantly. "Ya, that's why he had good sense."

"Whats this about a guy who has a crush on you?" Ryan shouted from outside the door and banged on it softly. Me and Katie share a look before bursting into laughter.

I smiled, satisfied to see how much better she was feeling. I got up and nodded to her before beginning to walk out. That was until another thought came into mind."Hey Katie, your friends with Piper right?"

"I would think so." She smirked and wiggled her eyebrows. "Why? You got something in mind?"

"No, nothing like that." _At least not yet_. "I was just wondering who Jason is? Piper mentioned that name in passing. She seemed bothered saying it."

The Daughter of Hermes's smile suddenly disappeared when she heard this. "Oh well he was a Son of Jupiter and one of the seven."

I nodded. "Ya, Piper told me about that stuff. But was he and Piper-"

"Together? For a time." Katie replied, looking out the window as if expecting the Daughter of Aphrodite to be listening and ready to burst in at any moment. "But not anymore. They broke up a couple weeks again."

"Mind telling me why?"

Katie sighed heavily and seemed to hesitate answering. "Listen Sam, I don't think it's really right for me to tell you about this. If Piper didn't want you to know then she probably had her reasons."

Judging by the look on her face she wasn't going to tell me any more. I realized that coaxing her wouldn't do any good. I decide not to let my disappointment show and simply nodded. "Alright then. Thanks for the talk." I got up and walked out of the room.

Ryan was there quickly coming in and asking about Grayson. I jogged down the ship's hall, barely hiding my chuckles. I turned the corner and nearly ran face first into Piper who was leaning against the frame.

"Oh hey." I greeted her with the most pleasant look I could muster. "I was just checking in on Katie and wanted to make sure she's alright."

She smiled. "That's sweet of you. How is she doing?"

"Katie's doing good. She's got Ryan watching out for her."

"I know, I helped set them up together." Piper said proudly, sounding a bit like a mother with a child who just won an award. "They're absolutely perfect for each other."

The two of us started walking up the stairs and through the length of the ship. Mike was taking sentry duty tonight. He waved at us with his rifle held ready in case of another attack.

"Heh, ya I guess you can say that." I smiled, remembering how Katie would spend entire classes just secretly texting to him. "It must be nice to have someone like that."

I looked around at the middle of the Trireme where the Chimera attacked. Although some of the dents and scorch marks had been cleaned out, most of the big stuff like the holes still remained and would take maybe days of work to fix. Thankfully there doesn't seem to be any signs of other monster attacks.

"It's not all that great." Piper remarked, though some of the bitterness slipped through her tone. It was odd to see a Daughter of literally the goddess of Love talk about relationships that coldly.

"Did you have someone like that?" I asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to broach the subject.

She quickly turned around, her hair flipping at my face as she walked away. "No, I didn't. What would give you that idea."

I blinked at her once.

She sighed in defeat and stopped in place. "Well, there was someone before. His name was Jason."

My interest piqued, I jerked my head and gestured for her to continue.

"We dated for a few months before and during Quest of the Seven. After all of that blew over he became the Pontifex Maximus, a priest of the camp."

"Really, I never saw any priest in Camp Half-Blood."

"Not Half-Blood." Piper corrected. "There's a second camp made up of Roman Demigods called Camp Jupiter. He served in Camp Half-Blood most of the time but was soon called back to Camp Jupiter to help serve there. Eventually he spent months there and soon he stopped coming back all together."

Before I could ask anymore she turned and left, walking silently into the darkness.

* * *

 **Ryan's POV**

A finger crept up to my face and pressed itself softly against my nose. "Boop"

I shook my head quickly trying to shake off the shock. Katie giggled and withdrew her hand back underneath the blankets. She was bundled up in a silly blanket burrito.

"Good morning to you too." I replied and patted her head as I threw off the covers and got up. I adjusted my dark sweatpants and started to stretch. A smirk formed on my face as I flexed my muscles, giving Katie a good look of my abs bulging from my shirt.

My girlfriend gasped, her face flushing bright pink. "Well Katie?" I flexed my muscles. "What do you think?"

She quickly buried herself under the covers. I laughed and grabbed her foot and pulled her out from under the bed. Katie pouted and got to her feet. Her sleeping clothes consisted of running shorts and a Deadpool T-shirt. "You're no fun Ryan."

"Ya I'm a buzzkill." I said dryly. "Come on let's get some breakfast."

She nodded and hooked her arms around mine. Mike was waiting for us outside the doors, dressed in his Camo pants and Orange T-shirt. He looked at the rumpled sheets and then at us. "You do have your own room right?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Ya but Katie looked like she needed me here after that Chimera incident."

Mike nodded and followed me out. As we walked be started to give me his report from his and Sam's watch last night. "It doesn't look like there's anything going to attack us. It's actually pretty strange really. I wanted you to see it."

"See what?" Katie questioned as we emerged on the decks. Mike pointed over the deck where a pack of sea serpents were diving underneath one. The largest one was twice as big as the _Zeus's Bolt_. Yet it only took one look at us with a lazy expression before diving under. The others do the same and vanish in the water.

I look around, expecting to see them resurface and attack once again, but nothing happens for a minute or two. "Whats with these monsters?" Katie asked.

"Who cares?" Aqua said and climbed down from the captain's area with a sandwich in her hands. "Their monsters who aren't attacking us just enjoy it."

"No Aqua." Mike replied. "This isn't a good thing. These monsters are acting unusually and we need to figure out why."

"Maybe we can find out there!" Sam shouted from the Crow's Nest. He pointed towards a tiny speck of island in the distance. "Land ho!"

I helped unfurl the sails while Aqua summoned a small wave to blow the _Zeus's Bolt_ forward. The island started to grow steadily as we drew closer. Up close it looked like some tropical paradise with white sand beaches and coconut trees. I looked through my binoculars for any signs of inhabitants and spot a small shack with a group of people there.

"There are people there," I announced to everyone.

Mike lined his rifle over the edge of the ship. "Are the dangerous?"

"No they're….playing the bongos?" I said taking a look again. There was a small group of them sitting around in a circle and listening to one guy was he banged his hands against a set of bongos. That doesn't seem right at all. Based on my experience the only times people were this relaxed was when they were luring you into a trap to bite your faces off.

"I'll keep the crossbows ready." Piper said running towards the mounted ballista and pointed it towards the direction of the island.

We soon drop anchor and lower a rowboat. I begin to row back and forth as Katie, Sam and Aqua all sat around me. Mike and Piper agreed to stay behind and provide covering fire in case things turned bad.

Or when things turned bad.

Aqua sent small skips of water coming at us. The boat rocked back and forth gently as the waves bounce against it. "Katie do you see anything?" I asked, not being able to see anything from my vantage point.

"Nothing out of the ordinary." She replied, standing up and nearly falling over when the boat rocked back and forth. Katie shielded her eyes from the sun with her hands and continued to look. "Yup there's seven guys sitting on the beach and another in the shack."

I nodded, looking down at the ring on my finger. I resist the urge to summon my spear out. "Do they notice us?"

"No they seem pretty focused on the bongos. The one in the shack looks like he's making something." Katie replied.

The waves suddenly stop as Aqua looked up. "This looks far enough." She said, holding her hand out and summoning a water whip from the ocean.

I set the oars down and put them inside while Aqua created a leash and tied the boat into place on a nearby rock. The rest of us leap into the water with a splash. I curse as cold water goes up to my thighs. We began to wade through the water, keeping our weapons ready.

Even when we reached shore none of the people notice us. They were still laughing and clapping at the guy playing. All of them had long greasy locks and were dressed in loose hawaiian shirts or dresses. As we walked up to them I raised my hand in greeting. "Hello."

They guy playing the bongos stopped and looked at us. Even the others turned to face our group as if just realizing we were here. Finally a big grin appeared on one girl's face and she spread her arms out. "Welcome to our island!"

The others cheered and greeted us as well. The musician started to play his instrument again. "Come and join our music circle."

The others scooted over to make room for us. The three of them look at me expectantly for instructions. I glanced back at them and reluctantly lower my spear and sit cross legged beside a tanned girl in a floral dress. She giggled and winked flirtatiously at me.

"Nope." Aqua said quickly and pushed her way between us. She looked up at Katie who nodded in approval.

A smile creeped up on my face as I shook my head. Sam and Katie joined us and took their seats as well. The guy in the shack suddenly came out carrying a wooden tray full of drinks. "I see we have new faces!" He announced loudly and began to hand out drinks to all of us.

I take a coconut shell cut in half with a little umbrella. Inside its hollowed shell was a milky white liquid with a lotus floating in the middle. "The flower inside is edible." The guy explained and took the last glass for himself.

Sam shrugged and started to drink when he saw the others doing so. I started to sip at it and was surprised that it tasted more like tea than coconut. I sipped again and likcked my lips and took another sip, and again. Before I know it the glass was empty and the drink tender took it back.

Looking around at the people I feel my shoulders relax as they get back to listening to music and laughing. These guys couldn't possibly be monsters, or if they were these were some of the best disguised monsters I've ever seen.

Or maybe I was just being paranoid.

"So what island is this?" Katie asked lazily and clapped softly to the beat of the music. Her head spun briefly but soon she placed a hand on her temple and steadied herself.

"What does it matter." One of the guys remarked and shrugged calmly. "There's food, water and its quiet. Isn't that all that matters?"

Sam smiled. "Ya that seems about right." Even I found myself agreeing with that.

The girl in the floral dress smiled again and placed a hand on my shoulder. When I turned to her I caught her winking right at me. "You definately stay for the party later. The rest of us will be here later after their yoga osession."

Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt to rest for a bit. A night on a quiet island like this would do all of us some good. When I looked around I caught Katie's angry glare at the girl. This time I didn't bother trying to hide my laugh as Katue flushed bright red.

* * *

The dancer grinned confidently from ear to ear he twirled a flaming torch on either hand. He stamped his feet and chanted as he threw them in the air. The torches flew almost ten feet in the air.

The air whooshed from all of us as the dancer did a backflip and caught it in his hands. We all burst into cheering and whoops. Piper and Mike watched from behind and chewed on some pineapple they were given. They had both joined us from the ship an hour ago and were greeted with the same courtesy.

A man stepped up the stage while the dancer backed away and bowed. It was Dave, the same guy who offered us drinks a whole ago. "Hello everyone are you enjoying the show so far?"

Over a hundred voices including our own shouted in agreement. "Yes!"

"And let's give our newest friends a big welcome. They arrived today and will be joining us dinner tonight." Those nearest to me greeted me with claps and smiles. With that waiters started handing out plates of fruit and barbecue.

We all moved to the benches and low tables set up nearby and started to dig in. A group of girls in hula skirts started to dance around on stage. I was surprised to see Katie and Aqua amongst them. Just the fact that they managed to get her out of her jeans was remarkable.

"Hey, Piper why aren't you joining them?" I asked, glancing in her direction while she simply watched from the side.

She gave a friendly shrug and continued to eat her pineapple just as Dave walked over and offered a drink. The same fruit drink they offered us when we first arrive. Piper sipped on it and smiled. "Still, I can't believe how lucky we were to find this place."

"Ya me neither." Mike grinned as he listened to one girl place some music from her ukelele. She locked eyes with me and beckoned me forward to join her.

I was about to get up when Piper grabbed my arm and pulled me beside Mike while she sat beside the girl. "Nope." She stuck her tongue out at me.

My eyes moved to Katie who saw the whole exchange and smirked. _I don't like sharing_. She seemed to mouth as she turned back to dancing. I took a plate of barbecue from the waiter and started to chow down. A distant voice in my mind told me that we need to go and that something was amiss here. I knew from way too much experience that Demigods aren't exactly known to catch a break like this.

A frown started to form on my face but I looked around at everyone's happy faces at the knot forming at my stomach disappeared. The girls music continued to flow into my ears, filling me with that soothing sounds. Slowly my worries seemed to just slip away to the back of my mind then completely out of though.

I'm probably just being paranoid and besides staying in a field island could make repairing the Zeus's Bolt much easier and give everyone time to relax and get some rest. Screw it, I decide mentally, turning my attention back to my dinner. For once let's enjoy our time at peace before continuing on the quest. They would be go one, maybe two days. A week at most.

What could possibly go wrong in that time?


	7. Chapter 7

**Katie's POV  
**  
"Katie comes on," Sam said beside me, clearly struggling to contain his laughter. He walked beside me down by the pool area. Despite that my attention was somewhere else, towards the girl sitting on the edge of the water and letting her feet trail in the water.

But besides her was Ryan who laughed at something she said and started to play something on his bass. I ground my teeth together and resist the urge to walk over to her and push her into the water. Maybe knock some of those perfect teeth in. Normally Piper or Aqua would get in between them but they would seem to be less alert these past couple days.

Sam looked to where my gaze was and this time he didn't bother hiding his laugh. He patted me on the shoulder. "Oh come on Katie, Nannie is a nice girl. She's probably just being friendly." He pulled his shirt over his head. I looked downward and smirked, a few of training was doing wonders to his body. While now particularly muscular he was much leaner than before.

He was dressed in swimming trunks and leaped into the water. When the Son of Apollo resurfaced he spit water out and paddled to towards the end of the pool and patted the spot next to him. A server walked up to him and held up a tray of food.

All he got was a glass of tea which he sipped on. She turned to me but I shook my head and slowly inched my way into the pool. All the while my attention was focused on Ryan and Nannie. ", a she's friendly alright. Just like how Lex Luthor is friendly with the Justice League."

"That was seriously the first analogy that came to mind?" Sam raised an eyebrow and leaned back into the water.

I shrugged and sighed with relief as well once Nannie waved to Ryan and started to walk away towards the hotel. Thats right bitch you better run. With her gone Ryan picked up his glass to drink his tea and relaxed by a drink shack. Maybe I was just being silly worrying. Slowly my mind started to drift off as I swam around in the water.

I closed my eyes and let the water blow me around. After what seemed like a few minutes, someone cleared his throat above me. I looked up and saw one of the servers smiling at me. "Hello there, your dinner is ready now miss. All your friends are waiting for you."

Slowly I started to shift positions until my feet touched the floor and smiled back. "Thanks."

He helped me climb out and offered me a towel. I quickly started to dry myself off as the server offered me a steaming cup of tea. "To help warm up."

"In a bit," I replied and finished wiping my hair before taking the glass. He led me to the roofless dining area that showed off all the constellations. As we made our way there I tilted my head to the side and saw a crate left by the pathway to the entrance. "Hey, our those the food we got?" I asked, trying to hide my annoyance.

Each day one of us was supposed to be gathering supplies to bring back to Zeus's Bolt, today was supposed to be Mike's turn. Yet everyday I saw those crates just laying around. It seemed that I was the only one actually doing my job.

By the time we reached the dining hall everyone was already seated, still in their swimming clothes. Thankfully a quick look around told me that Nannie wasn't here with them today. Good.

Today they were serving Hawaiian barbecue with a chef expertly twirling his knives around as he carved up a ham. Piper smiled and helped herself to the pineapple which was dipped in sauce sweetened with honey. "So Mike," I said. "I think you might have left something outside?"

"Did I?" He remarked and yawned sleepily as he stuffed a piece of ham down his mouth. "What was that?"

I throw up my hands in exasperation. "Guys come on. We need to get out of this place that will never happen if you guys keep forgetting to bring supplies in."

Aqua glanced up from her food and rolled her eyes. It made her look a bit like a rebellious teenager. "Come on Katie we're on a tropical island, can't we at least enjoy it for a bit longer before leaving."

"We've been here for almost a week." I reminded her gently. "Guys we still have a quest to accomplish."

Ryan smiled and placed a hand on me. He sipped from his tea and relaxed. "Come on Katie lighten up. Maybe this could be a stroke of luck."

He reclined his seat and yawned. As he finished his tea for a moment I noticed his pupils dilated slightly. The others voiced their own thoughts and laughed with him as they drank their tea. Something was seriously wrong here.

"Hey guys I'm just gonna go uhhh, take a dip in the pool again." I set my teacup down and quickly get to my feet. I started to move out towards the exit.

Ryan was the only one who reacted and waved at me. "Don't stay in there too long or you'll get all wrinkly."

"Right." I replied and started to jog away from the kitchen when I ran right into one of the servers.

He smiled and handed me some tea. "A drink before returning to the pool miss?"

"Umm, no thank you. I just had a glass." I lied, the lotus scent lifted up in the air and filled my nostrils. It was tempting, so sweet and serene that I thought of taking just one sip. No, I shook my head and any thoughts of it.

He frowned and pushed the glass towards me. "Please miss I insist. It is helpful to ease your limbs."

I was starting to get annoyed and not too gently pushed him aside. "No thats alright. I'm feeling quite fine right now."

The server was at a loss for words. For the first few minutes he was unable to utter a single thing, but soon he simply nodded and stepped back. "Of course, apologies miss."

I move past him and sprint towards my room. Even as I move away I still felt his eyes trailing after me. I suddenly move in the other direction as the pool comes into sight and head inside to the hut we're staying in. There were servers everywhere in the path, offering me more of that tea. I refused them all and threw open the door, locking it behind me.

Once I was sure no one was there I quickly threw on some clothes; shorts, a white T-shirt and sneakers. As I did so I racked my brains for an answer. Who were these people? Didn't Annabeth mention something like that happening to her.

There was no window so it was easy to sneak out of there. I kick the heels of my sneakers together and watch as they sprout fluffy white wings that start to carry me towards the ship. The Zeus's Fist was anchored about a hundred feet away from the shore. Its dozens of oars all lay in the water unmoving. I quickly landed aboard the deck and instinctively pulled my knife out. I make my way down to the ship's hold where we kept the supplies gathered. When I looked around I counted only a sixth of what should have been there.

Cursing under my breath I made my way back up and flew back to the hut. I said into the window and brushed dust off of my clothes. "Enjoy your trip?" Someone called out.

My head shoots up and looked around for the source of the voice. From the corner of the room, in the shadow of a closet, someone emerged from there. It was Sam, he had his arms folded and stared at me coldly, his eyes filled with bottled up anger.

I ignore him and start packing my stuff into my backpack. "Why are you so insistent on leaving?" He finally exploded, throwing up his arms in frustration. "We finally have a place where we can live happily and peacefully and all you wanna do is throw it away for what?"

"For our quest and for everyone who counting on us to succeed!" I shouted back and gestured to everything here. "And all of this? This isn't paradise, we're going to live out like mindless zombies."

He grabbed my arm and wrenched it tightly under his grip. I cried out in surprise and tried to tug it free. "We can't leave! It's perfect here!"

"And it's not real! It's all just an illusion to keep you here forever. This is the land of the Lotus Eaters." I quietly started to think. "Do you think Piper would want this if she knew everything?"

As if a spell was shattered, he looked at me as if realizing I was here for the first time and gasped. Sam looked around at the room, his eyes slowly realizing what was going on. "We need to get out of here!"

A knock came from the door. "Excuse me?" The server asked from outside. "Is everything alright in there?"

Sam peered outside the window and quickly pulled his head back in. "Damnit."

He knocked at the door again. "Excuse me? Is anyone there?"

"How many?" I asked and pulled out my knife and sword, though a part of me hoped I wouldn't have to use them.

"Three, a server and two guards." He replied and reached for an arrow from his quiver. He notched it onto his bow and took aim at the door. "If you open the door I might be able to take one or two out."

I shook my head. "No, they don't know that you're no longer under their spell. Go down and get the others while I get distract them."

He hesitated a bit but nodded. Sam lowered his bow and set it aside. "Do it."

My hand drifted down towards the doorknob. A heartbeat passed, then a second before I opened the door. Instantly the two guards burst in with their nightsticks ready. I leaped back and raised my fists. I caught the nightstick with my hands and slam my foot into his stomach. The air whooshes out of him as he doubled over as I threw him over my shoulder.

I whirled around just as the other guard smashed his club against my cheek. My teeth rattled violently in my mouth as I careened to the ground. Sam quickly turned and ran away out the door.

I jumped back to my feet and raised my fists. Something built up in my mouth and I spat out a glob of blood. "Come on, that all you got?"

* * *

 **Sam's POV**

I nearly turned back around to the cabin as I heard the loud crash behind me. It was followed by Katie's screams. But I shook my head and forced myself to move forward to the dining hall.

"Sam!" Ryan greeted cheerfully and waved at me. "Come and join us in the beach."

I grabbed him by the shoulders and started to shake his well built frame. "Ryan we need to get out of here." I shouted desperately. "This place isn't natural now come on!"

He simply threw his head back and laughed. Ryan patted me on the shoulder and shook his head. "Calm down Sam. I think the heat is starting to get to you." Nannie rounded a corner and placed a hand on his shoulder.

She smiled flirtatiously and absently run her finger across his shirt. "Come on Ryan you promised you'd play your bass for us."

He smiled and pulled himself free from her grasp. "In a minute Nannie."

"Katie's going to leave Ryan. Will you join her or will you stay here." I blurted out.

In an instant the smile on his face was gone and replaced with his normal serious expression. "We need to get out of here." He reaffirmed my statement and nodded.

Nannie grabbed his shoulder and pouted. "Come on Ryan don't listen to him. He's just a bit crazy. Now let's listen to that bass of yours."

He gently pushed her aside and shook his head. "I'm sorry Nannie, but I need to go." Ryan apologized and brushed past her. Before he could go any further the hula girl suddenly swept her leg out and knocked him off his feet.

She growled and took a step towards me. "I can't let you go." Nannie said.

Before she could any farther Ryan rammed his body against hers and knocked her to the ground. He staggered to his feet and pulled out his lance. "Damn it Sam, get going! I'll hold her off."

I didn't need any other motivation and sprinted down to the pool area where Piper was. The Daughter of Aphrodite was simply swishing her feet around in the pool. "Piper please let's go."

She didn't appear to hear my words and simply waved happily at me. I begin to recall something in my mind, that name I've heard before. "Jason Grace."

Piper blinked and a frown crept up on her lips. "What? What did you say?"

"Jason grace." I gasped, catching my breath as I look around for any guards in the area. There were none and for some reason it only made it seem worse. I leaned in closer to her and grab her shoulders. "That's the guy who broke your heart right?"

Her expression changed from shock to anger. "Who told you that?"

A guard appeared from the other room waving a nightstick around. Without answering her, I grabbed her arm and led her out. "Come on I'll explain later, but right now we need to get out of here."

Before she could protest I dragged her out of the water and back the way I came from just as Ryan came running out with Aqua and Mike. "Where's Katie?" We both shouted and our gaze moved towards our hut.

The others fell behind as we jogged towards their hut. The door was kicked open and looked ready to fall off its hinges. Katie stood alone in the middle of the room, holding one arm that was hanging limply tightly when she turned to face us, she sported a vicious shiner and a cut on her lip. Her body was covered with purple-blue bruises, but at her feet were half a dozens guards.

A smile formed on her lips as she nodded. "About damn time." With that, her legs gave way underneath her and she passed out. Ryan was on her in an instant, helping her up. He cradled her tightly and started to carry her bridal style.

"Come on let's go!" He shouted and the five of us made our way down to the beach. At this point, the alarm must have been raised as guards come chasing after us. We quickly hurry towards the boats.

"Start rowing!" Ryan ordered as he glanced towards the swarms of security guards coming at us. He closed his eyes and started to concentrate. The Son of Hades lifted his hands in the air and a wall of shadows started to form. "Go, go, go!"

We all climb aboard and begin to row the boat out, moving to deeper waters. From beyond, the guards banged at the wall with their sticks as they tried to get through.

Seeing us move, Ryan slowly started to ease down the wall and wadded through the water until he climbed aboard the rowboat with us.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sam's POV**

"How come you were the only one not affected by the lotuses?" Aqua asked the question that every one of them was thinking. She didn't sound angry or accusing but instead was genuinely curious. Everyone else turned to Katie who sat at the edge of the table, she tried not to look so nervous as we all regarded the Daughter of Hermes.

We all sat by the ship's galley. The Zeus's Bolt rocked back and forth against the choppy waves while we sailed west, and hopefully farther away from the island of the Lotus Eaters.

"Well, I'm not so sure either." She replied, rubbing the back of her neck. She chuckled humorlessly. "I just couldn't relax I guess."

That answer didn't sit well with anyone who continued to watch her. I groaned and rubbed my temples. My head was still throbbing a day after we left the island of the Lotus Eaters. I continued to look around, craving for more of those little flowers, almost like Demigod detox. The others seemed perfectly fine, or at least were way better at hiding. I'm pretty sure at ate twice as much as everyone. Combined.

"Come on there had to be something." Aqua persisted.

"Maybe it could be cause she's a Daughter of Hermes?" Mike suggested. He was seated in the corner, left of Aqua and reclined his chair back to put his feet up.

Ryan shook his head. "I doubt it. I don't think Hermes ever really had contact with the Lotus Eaters."

Piper suddenly snapped her fingers and sat up. "I got it! Katie, what were you thinking about while you were on the island."

"Ummm," Katie hesitated in responding. A tiny blush formed on her cheeks, causing them to turn a cute shade of pink. She quickly pulled the hood of her hoodie over her head. "Well, I spent most of the time thinking about that bitch Nannie and how she was trying to move in on Ryan."

I couldn't help myself, I let out a short laugh. The others started to join in and laugh as well all the while Katie grumbled unhappily under her breath and fold her arms. Ryan moved over to her pulled her into a tight embrace.

He buried his face into her hair while another hand gently ran through the unbrushed locks. Finally, he pulled away, still stone-faced as ever. "Come on Katie have a bit of faith in me. I could never leave you for someone like her." His voice was slightly chiding, but the affection underneath was not lost to anyone.

I can't help but smile at the two of them. As I do I take a look at Piper who was drinking from her canteen before Katie spoke up again. "Even if that slut wasn't wearing underneath her skirt?"

Piper spat out her water while the others turned to her. Ryan was red faced as he quickly tried to shush her. Another round of laughter soon followed and everyone sank back to their chairs. "So we know that there was something to ground Katie back to reality, that could be was caused her to resist the spell."

We all muttered in agreement while Ryan pulled away from Katie and started to sit back down in his chair. "Do where do go now from here?" I asked, tapping my fingers nervously as I look at the rest of them.

None of them seemed eager to speak but Aqua soon pulled out a map from her side and spread it out. It was off the east coast of Florida. She pointed at the area marked as the Bermuda triangle, particularly at one of the corners. "This is where we are. I suggest we go in deeper towards the interior."

Piper nodded quietly, but there was a troubled look on her face. "But there will be a lot of challenges and obstacles to get in. The Clashing Rocks, Cerci's island, the Lair of the Gorgons."

"Scylla and Charybdis." Ryan shuddered and nodded. They continued to talk on, debating and discussing various things that I didn't understand. Katie and Mike soon started to join in the argument.

Eventually, I excused myself and got up. None of them seemed to hear me and continued to argue with each other.

I headed upstairs and looked at the sea, the moonlight reflected off it and caused the sea to glitter brightly. Smiling, I walked up to my room in order to retrieve my guitar before sitting down and moved the bow of the ship where I sat down. I began to adjust the strings as I played the first notes until I was satisfied with the sound that came out.

I started to play a soft tune on it, not trying to do a particular song but instead just let whatever was on my mind come out. Ever since I was claimed people kept questioning me if I was good with any musical instrument. And while I'd like to believe I could play the guitar pretty (enough that Katie was begging me for lessons), well I doubt I was particularly divine on it.

"That's a nice sound," Piper said coming out of nowhere. The Daughter of Aphrodite stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of me. After the land of the Lotus Eaters, she cleaned up quite nicely. She was dressed in a simple white tank top, cargo shorts, and hiking boots. Her hair was freshly washed and braided with feathers. In the moonlight, she looked like some sort of Native American goddess.

"Thanks," I replied and stopped playing for a bit as she sat down beside me and stretched her arms. "Come and join me."

"So I suppose you also needed a break from all their shouting huh?" She gave me a lopsided smile. "Can't say I blame you."

"I needed a break from them talking about stuff that I don't understand." I corrected her and tried to keep the annoyance from my voice, but judging by the frown on her face I must have been doing a poor job.

She looked around at the deck of the ship. "Not all of us understand this stuff either," Piper assured me. "Back during the Quest of the Seven, I barely knew what was what and usually I needed the others to explain things too. Leo and even Percy too."

I flash her a sardonic smile. "Maybe that was you a few months ago, but now you can at least keep up with them. I usually don't know a damn thing they're saying."

"That's normal. You think you'll know everything on the first quest? It took me a year just to get where I am now." With that, she suddenly got up and started to head to the cabins. She disappeared down the stairs, leaving me alone on the deck. I sighed quietly to continued to play my guitar.

A few minutes later I heard footsteps coming from below above. Piper appeared from the stairs with a thick book held between her hands. She held it up for me to see, the words on it were faded but still visible enough under the bright light. The Myths and Legend of Ancient Greece. It said. She dropped it on my lap. Piper smiled. "Gotta start somewhere. This is how I got my most of my knowledge on mythology."

I held up the book and started to flip through it. The pages felt cracked and brittle and were covered in a thin layer of dust, but the words looked as clear as they were when it was first written. "Thank you." I smiled at her. Piper leaned forward and hugged me.

"It was nothing, now don't stop playing your guitar." She giggled and sat down beside me again. "Come on I wanna hear you play."

I decided to oblige her and started to play again. My notes this time were long and elegant, she clapped her hands and happily encourage me to keep going. I continued to play until I felt my finger start to ache from strumming my guitar.

When I set it down and stared at the sky with her. Piper leaned on me and started to point out some of the stars, showing the constellations and explaining the stories behind them. Orion, Scorpio, Sagittarius. I let her lean on me and felt my heart to a flip. For the first time since coming to Camp Half-Blood, I felt satisfied, like I actually belong to somewhere. "This is fun. Did you ever go star gazing before?"

"Ya, a few times back in school with Ja-" She quickly silenced herself and bit her lip.

"With Jason?" I finished for her, frowning as I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, with Jason." The happiness from her voice a few minutes ago was now gone. Now it just sounded hollow and somber. With that, she got up and mumbled her goodbyes along with something about being tired, and got up. Before I could reply, she was heading back to her room leaving me here alone, cursing myself for my big mouth.

* * *

I woke up to Mike not too gently nudging me. He stood over my bed with his rifle slung over his shoulder and his shades on his face. The Son of Ares pointed out the window as a massive crashing sound became audible.

Mike didn't need any more words as he got up and left. I quickly showered and changed into fresh clothes before heading upstairs as well. In that time I realized that the ship had stopped moving and we were now just floating by the waves.

The other five were already up and assembled when I finally arrived. Katie was leaning on the ship's bowsprit and stared at the horizon as if examining it. In front of her was a massive landscape. Miles and miles of high stone cliffs at in front of us.

Ryan was going through some books and maps while chewing his lip, though the tight frown on his face was still very much visible. After a minute or so he set the book down and stands up. "Ok, I think this is the Clashing Rocks for sure."

Those few words didn't really sit well with anyone as we all stared at the floorboards. "But didn't Jason manage to pass it? The original Jason I mean." I quickly added once I noticed the unhappy look on Piper's face.

He nodded, though he hardly looked any reassured. "Ya, he did it by having his crew row double time to get past the rocks before it crushed him, and even then it was a close thing. Plus well," He gestured around to the six of us. "There isn't a whole lot of us to do the rowing."

"I might be able to help!" Aqua piped up readily and jumped to her feet. Everyone turned to face her. She looked a little embarrassed at her outfit and nodded. "I can help speed up the boat I mean, you know with the water."

"That could work." Mike smiled and clapped her on the back. "Are you sure you're up for it though?"

She looked at each of us uncertainty, but slowly steeled herself and nodded. "Yes, I think I can do it."

Ryan seemed satisfied and patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Thanks, but if you're going to do it then you better get ready." As he said this, the cliff started to shake loudly, bits of rock the size of small cars and started to tumble off to the landscape and splashed into the water.

Mike held her shoulders and started to guide her towards the stern of the ship. Katie climbed back from the ship's bowsprit and jumped back onto the deck while Ryan started to head back to the captain's ship and began to activate its systems. Rows started to come to life as he looked forward. The landscape continued to tremble like an earthquake ripping through it until a massive fissure started to appear from the cliffside.

More rocks and rubble continued to tumble off while the gap started to grow. The ships started to grow into life and, the rows all moved up in unison and started to move forward. Aqua closed her eyes and start to concentrate, summoning a small wave against the water to push us forward.

As we moved closer Piper gripped my shoulder tightly, her fingers trembled as we started to enter the gap formed. As we passed I realized just how big the Clashing Rocks were. End to end, it could have easily been a mile wide gap.

Aqua shut her eyes as she concentrated and raised a hand towards the water, directing forward towards the ship, pushing against the Zeus's Bolt. The rest of us watched with bated breath, the Trireme slowly began to cross the fissure. Piper dug her nails into my arm, I could have sworn I heard her teeth chattering.

The wings of Katie's shoes started to flap around as if wanting nothing more than to fly out of here. I can't say I blamed them but Katie stopped it with one quick stomp. Behind me, Ryan and Mike were working on the controls in order to get the parts to move faster. They continued to slice through the waves, slowly quickening their pace.

We were soon half way through the rocks and the rocks continued to spread apart. It started to look like we were going to make it. No one saw the first boulder. It crashed into the waves beside us, sending water splashing at us. More soon started to follow. My head shot up and I saw several figures standing by the cliffside. Even from this far their tattoo covered bodies were unmistakable.

Lanstrigonian Giants.

The leader wore a lion pelt draped around his body and picked up another rock. This was couldn't have been bigger than basketball. But when he threw it the thing flew through the air like a missile before exploding against the deck of the ship. It nearly threw Aqua off the ship had Mike not been there and caught her by the hand. The others cheered and started to throw their own projectiles. Not rocks I thought grimly, cannon balls.

The Zeus's Bolt rocked back and forth as waves crashed against it. It struggled to stay afloat much less move forward. Mike pulled out his rifle and started to pick off the giants. "Return fire!" He bellowed.

The rest of us didn't need any more encouragement. Katie dashed for the ballista and started to fire explosive bolts at clusters of giants. Ryan raised his hands in the air and summoned a small group of skeletons who quickly started to scale up the walls in order to engage their foes. Piper cleared her throat and started to speak, her voice was powerful and easily carried through rest of the chasm. "I'll give a kiss to whoever manages to make the biggest splash without hitting the boat!" She proclaimed loudly.

In an instant all the giants began to focus on hitting the water, using all their strength to hurl their cannonballs into the water. But at that point, the rocks suddenly stopped moving and went still. A split second later they started to push back, this time a twice the speed as before. "Come on guys double time!" Ryan shouted as the ship slowly get back into place.

I picked up my bow and started to take aim at some of the giants. One hanging from a tree branch was nailed in the face, another preparing to throw his cannonball was taken in the throat, his missile falling from his hand and collapsing on the floor. A moment later his body was sailing through the air from an explosion.

At this point, the survivors were met with Ryan's skeletons who swiftly cut them down as they were too busy trying to impress Piper who watched with a slight smile. But even as the last of the Langstrigonians fell, the rocks continued to push against us. Now they were only about thirty feet away, small rocks were now tumbling onto the ship.

Ryan banged against the side of the ship. "Come on guys double time!"

Aqua's face scrunched up into a grimace as she pushed all of her efforts into the water. Beads of sweat dripped from her side while Mike stood behind her, ready to catch her if she fell. We were still about a hundred feet away from the edge. Aqua screamed as the water behind us started to bubble, one massive bubble expanding from the water.

"Brace yourself!" Ryan shouted loudly as he squatted down on the deck rail. The rest of us likewise did the same thing and looked for something to hold. A second later there was a loud pop and the ship skipped forward, like a rock thrown into the water.

Behind us the rocks slam shut, crushing a few inches of the ship. I heard a loud thump in the corner on the side. We all sag with relief as the rocks start to disappear. I turned to say thank you to Aqua who was passed out in Mike's hands. He grunted and lifted her up to take her below. The big giant with the lion skin pelt was standing in front of Piper. "I made the largest splash, now wheres my kiss?"

Piper smirked and nodded. "Of course, pucker up and I'll give it to you."

The giant grinned dumbly as he bent down to her level. He closed his eyes and puckered his swollen lips right at her. Without even blinking, Piper drove her dagger into the giant's gullet. He gasped in surprise, choking on the steel as she pushed the blade in deeper. He stood up and choked, dust pouring from his injury while Piper pulled her sword out and slashed it across his belly.

She pulled her dagger free as she shoved him back over the deck rail. The giant tumbled off, screaming loudly as he disintegrated into dust on the way.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sam's POV**

I don't remember the ship landing anywhere but when I look around I was standing on a rocky cliffside overlooking the shore. It was at least a hundred feet drop with jagged stones at the bottom. Behind me was an old Greek style palace.

It might have looked beautiful once but now the structure had fallen into disrepair. The marble columns lining the walls have collapsed and left the roof partially caved in. The building's structure was riddled with holes and cracks while the ground was covered with what appeared to be hoofprints.

As I made my way towards the palace, past the gardens which were overtaken with weeds. Inside I could hear two voice yelling at each other. "Perses you said you would stop these heroes before they even got close to the Sea of Monster. I can't risk another battle in my home." One voice shouted angrily.

I peered inside and saw two men staring each other down. The one screaming was dressed in a bizarre combination of a toga, hard hat and construction workers vest. He jabbed his finger angrily at the second guy, a scrawny guy with a hooked nose and sinister features. He stood his ground with his arms folded impatiently as if he was waiting for his friend to stop talking. He was dressed in a biker get up with a leather jacket, dark jeans, and spiked leather boots. A dagger and sword were strapped to his side.

Red-faced, the construction worker finally stopped and panted angrily, staring at Perses. "Do you not think I'm not aware of the situation? These heroes have proven to be more troublesome than I thought." A smile formed on his lips and his cruel face got even crueler. "But don't worry, I'll handle this Diomedes."

Diomedes still looked skeptical and folded his arms together. "And what makes you think you'll succeed where your cousin has failed?"

Perses started to laugh so loudly that the palace shook. Bits of rubble fell on the sides causing his companion to stagger back and glare at him. "Pallas and his minions have had their fun but now it's time for a true challenge to step forward."

"And that would be you?" His companion questioned skeptically.

"Did I not successfully give you back your stallions?" Pereses replied calmly.

Diomedes seemed to have wanted to say more, but he quickly turned aside and shrugged. "Very whatever you wish I have work to do. Alright, break time's over back to work!" He clapped his hands together and a dozen spectral forms suddenly started to appear. They were also dressed in white tunics and hard hats and carried hammers and chisels. Around the room, platforms and other support structures formed. Slowly they went back to work on the cracks.

The biker chuckled and shook his head. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with his finger while leaning against the wall. "Oh there's no fun in that, but I do have a friend who has experience playing with the gods." Perses began to tap his foot against the floor, causing the ground to shake and the men working there to stumble around.

My vision begins to get blurry and soon rubble blocks my sight.

* * *

I opened my eyes once again, but this time I see I was back into my quarters alone. I begin to throw my sheets off and dress before heading out. As I made my way towards the upper deck of the ship, I rub my eyes, trying to shake away the grogginess still there.

For three days after the Clashing Rocks everything was quiet, no monsters, no dangers or anything. I started to relax but Ryan remained uncertain. "Things are never peaceful for this long while on a quest." He said somberly. "At the very least we should have seen some sort of monster by now."

He said that last night, at the time I was ready to brush it off at him just being paranoid. But after that dream, well maybe his theory wasn't as crazy as I thought. I decided to tell him the next time I see him but in the meantime, I look around and breath in the fresh air.

Aside from Mike who took the night shift tonight to control the ship, Aqua was the only one up and was sitting on the ship's ram. Her sneakers were left on the railing behind her while she let her toes absently trail in the water. She had a fishing rod in her hands which she pitched in the water.

Before I even finished making my way towards her, she had already started pulling her line back and proudly held up a tuna fish the size of my pillow. "I caught us breakfast." She beamed proudly.

From the captain's area, Mike flashed her a thumbs up before returning to his job. I smile and sit next to her. "I suppose being a water spirit doesn't hinder you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it does." She admitted, throwing her fish into a bucket that she left before throwing her line in again. "Though I'm still not used to the salt water."

I raised an eyebrow. "But, you're a water spirit."

She smiled and rolled her eyes, looking a combination of amusement and annoyance. "I'm a Naiad Sam. We're freshwater spirits who live in lakes and rivers. Nereids are the saltwater spirits."

"Oh," I said and bobbed my head. "Can I ask you something? It's about some dreams I've been having."

Aqua turned to me with a frown, she pulled her line out and set it down beside her. "Ya, sure whats up?"

I rubbed the back of my neck uncertainly. How the heck do I explain this to her? Finally, I take a deep breath and try to get my thoughts together. "Well, I've been having dreams lately, weird ones where I always find myself in a weird place." Before I knew it I was telling her everything that I saw last night in my dream.

The Naiad stared at me intently as she listened to my story. She occasionally nodded her head at certain details. Somewhere in the middle, Mike leaves the captain's room and joins us. When I finish Aqua looks at me calmly. "How long have you been having these dreams?"

"Ever since we left camps" I replied.

Mike didn't look particularly surprised. He leaned on the deck rail. "That's what happens to Demigods. We sometimes have dreams of important events. What were the names of the people talking?"

"There was Perses, and another guy named Diomedes."

This didn't sit well with the Son of Ares who seemed troubled at the news. "Perses, now that's not a good name, he's the Titan of Destruction and Pallas."

I felt like an ice cube was dropped into my shirt. Pallas was already bad enough, but now there was two of them. That couldn't be good news. "And what about the other guy? Diomedes."

Aqua shrugged. "That one's a bit trickier. There was more than one person named Diomedes in the old stories, some decent guys and others not so much. We better tell the others about this."

She got up and climbed back onto the deck with Mike's help. I followed after her as she picked up her sneakers. "We'll need to plan," Mike said, heading downstairs. "I'll wake them.

I stopped to help Aqua maintain balance as she half walked, half hopped to pull her shoes on. After a few minutes, we were downstairs, the others awake and standing by the door. Ryan regarded me, his hair all blown to one side while Katie yawned behind him.

"Is what Mike said true?" He demanded, not wasting any breath on small talk. The others turned to me, waiting for an answer.

I sighed and nodded my head. "Yes."

Ryan's face was stormy when he heard this. "Then we need to plan for whatever Presses decides throws at us. Did he ever mention exactly what he was planning?"

I shook my head again. "He only said that he has a friend who's good at playing with the gods."

"Well, that narrows it down," Katie muttered under her breath.

The Son of Hades frowned and squeezed her shoulder. "Don't talk like that Katie, the last thing we need is some gods to be pissed off at us. We'll discuss is but right now I need someone to take guard duty."

I step forward and adjust my bow on my shoulder. "I can do it."

He nodded. "Good. With that settled the rest of you can get some rest." He paused and leaned over to Katie and pecked her on the cheek. "That means you too."

Katie smiled and returned to Ryan's room. "In your own room."

She emerged a moment later with a frown and she walked down the hall to her own cabin. The others left too, Ryan clapping Mike on the back as he left. By the time we reached the deck, an awkward silence returned with Ryan only to giving a noncommittal grunt to break it before leaving for his post.

I look around the room and frown. A few minutes ago the sea was a bit misty hut still fairly clear, now a thick layer of fog had descended on the horizon so bad that I could barely see three feet away.

Thankfully Ryan saw it as well and hit a button on his WII remote. The two eyes painted on the bow of the ship suddenly lit up in two bright searchlights.

I started my patrol, keeping my bow ready as I moved along the length of the ship and moved back and forth. Even though my watch told me it was close to 10 am already, the place was so dark it could have still been dawn. It was also eerily silent, all except for the churning of the oars and splashing waves.

As I passed one of the ballista platforms I catch a glimpse of movement, a slow drift. My instincts kick in and I hop onto the weapon, swiveling it around as I search for it again, but whatever it was disappeared again.

"Something wrong?" Ryan poked his head out from his room and glanced down at me. Behind him, I can hear the music of WII Sports.

Even as I looked at him, peripheral vision darted back and forth for the shape again. Still no luck. "No," I said, adjusting the ballista and leaping off the platform. "just thought I saw something."

He nodded his head and returned to his game, though his eyes never left me as he did. I sigh and wanted to kick myself for being so stupid. I turn back and continue my patrol. Again several times I catch a glimpse of the shapes in the water but I brush them off. It's probably nothing, just some fishes or something. My feet cause the floorboards to creak loudly.

Suddenly another sound came from the side it was a _whirring_ sound and before I fully comprehended what it was, a grappling hook attached itself to the railing. Ahead pushed itself up and leaped onboard. It had a dog like a face which was bared into a snarl. As it climbed ups it brandishes a dagger at me. Without thinking I pull an arrow out of my quiver and jab it into its eye.

The monster releases the grip and vanishes into dust. More grappling hooks appear all around the deck. "Ryan we're under attack!" I shouted and notched an arrow on my bow as another one of those dog creatures leaped up to my left and two more on my right. They all carried daggers and short swords as they slowly advanced at me.

One of the creatures snarled and lunges at me with his sword raised. I lose my arrow and was satisfied to see the shaft protrude out of its forehead. The monster falls to the ground and vanishes just as the others back away. For a moment they back away and growl threateningly.

I knew that their hesitation is only temporary and they'll charge at any minute. Finally, the one behind me acts first and waddles forward with its weapon but before it reached me, a spear flew from above and impaled it on the deck. Ryan appeared from the captain's\ room and landed beside me. He pulled his spear free and looked at the last surviving creature who slowly backed away.

Before he could move anymore Ryan drove his spear forward and kicked it aside. "Where are the others?" I shouted, notching another arrow. More creatures started to climb aboard. Bells were now ringing in the distance, the sound was unmistakable. It was another ship. "What are these things."

"I sounded the alarm, they should be here in a few seconds." He shouted back and leveled his spear and shield. "They're called Telekhine. Their basically sea demons."

I nod as the rest finish climbing aboard, at least a dozen of them who instantly come running towards us. But before any could fully cross the distance, a lash of water suddenly come up and knocked three of them aside.

Aqua came out first and used her water like a whip. She squatted down and moved her arms gracefully as if in a dance against her foes. The water moved around her, mimicking her moves before lashing out once again at them. While the Telekhine was distracted with her, I begin to loose arrows and Ryan throws himself against them.

The others soon joined us in the fight with Mike gunning down sea demons with his rifle or ramming them with his bayonet. Katie and Piper moved together with their swords and expertly cut their way through the demons until they reached the edge. One of the last Telekhine in front of them hissed and charged at them but Piper drove him back with a flurry of blows.

Before she could advance any more Katie gasped and suddenly pull her back. A creaking sound caused her to jump back and a massive wooden plank studded with steel spikes to make it look like a claw came slamming onto the deck, cutting through the wooden planks. From the mist, a figure came walking out. Unlike the Telekhine, this one was clearly a human figure.

He was dressed in an old style tunic that might have once been white but now looked more like a tan. A short sword was held in his hand and held ready. He had a short but bushy black beard and equally black hair that was also cut short. There was no mistaking that he was captain even though he couldn't have been older than his mid-twenties. Behind him were more Telekhines.

Katie moved first and advanced to him with her sword ready. The guy easily met her overhead swing and followed it up by a blow to the gut. She doubled over just as he grabbed her wrist and flung her aside.

Ryan roared in anger but hesitated in attacking. He rubbed his temples while the rest of the Telekhines surrounded us in a loose circle. There was at least three dozen of them. The six of us gripped our weapons tightly, ready to charge him at any moment despite the odds.

I leveled my bow at him, keeping the arrow pointed at his forehead while the man paced the deck. "I advise that you throw down your weapons. You are far outnumbered."

"We killed your friends here before," Piper said, jerking her head towards the piles of dust. "We can do the same with you."

The rest of us mutter in agreement, but surprisingly Ryan raises his hand and shakes his head. "No, do as he says."

We all glanced at him in surprise, but Ryan nods his head cooly. Reluctantly we let our weapons clatter onto the ground just as the pirate laughs and has some of his crew collect them. "Excellent, see that wasn't too hard now was it. Now I am-"

"Sostratos," Ryan replied and looked up at him. His eyes glared coldly at him even as two Telekhines pointed their spears at him.

Sostratos frowned and looked a little annoyed at being interrupted. But he simply nodded at Ryan. "Yes, I take it you know my story then Child of Hades."

He nodded. "You were tried before King Minos, and sentenced to be thrown into the river of fire, but instead you smooth-talked your way out."

"Now that's a bit harsh." Sostratos revealed his crooked teeth in a smile. "I did not 'smooth talk' as you so delicately put it out of my sentence. I merely pointed out the unfairness of being condemned to a punishment of a destiny given to me by the Fates."

"And you escaped the punishment of years of piracy," Ryan said.

The pirate didn't like this one bit. He pushed his sword up against Ryan's chin and made him look him in the eye. "I didn't pass the sentence, I merely offered my plea. If Minos accepted it then that is not my fault. Now you'd best be careful what you say."

"But the gods are supposed to be fair." I pointed out.

The Telekhines looked at one another before bursting out laughing. Even the pirate seemed amused and chuckled. "You're a fresh demigod I take it? Well, I suppose it's time for you to learn, there is no justice with the gods. Take my friends for example."

He gestured broadly around to the sea demons. "They built every tool the gods use now. The Lightning Bolt, the Trident, even those shoes that the girl wears." He pointed absently at Katie's sneakers. "Now take them to the brig."

The sea demons all swarmed us, pushing is towards the plank and to their ship. Sostratos Absently lit a match and dropped it on the deck. The ship instantly caught onto flames which rapidly spread all over.

Sostratos's ship resembled our own but much larger, at least two decks taller and nearly twice as long. A quinquereme I recalled them being called. There were more Telekhine crewmen waiting for us there, but oddly enough there was another figure sitting by the corner. This one was clearly a human dressed in full greek armor complete with a bow, spear, and shield. The odd thing about him was that his legs were in a brace.

His eyes followed us as we walked passed him. Even underneath his helmet, I felt his eyes glaring coldly at us.

"You'd best listen to what I have to say unless you want to deal with Bellerophon." The Pirate said, jerking his thumb towards the man. "He doesn't take kindly to godlings."

With that said, we were led below decks to the dungeons below.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ryan's POV**

"So why haven't we tried to escape yet?" Mike asked me as stood on a stool. After we were captured they crammed us each in a cell, two people in each one and always as far apart as possible. It was a smart move, in the end, to prevent any of us from properly coordinating an escape.

I didn't reply right away and looked at the window. It was already barely enough to squeeze me through, much less someone as bulky as Mike. But the bars welded there threw a wrench in any hope of escaping there. Not that it would matter. There are like five dozen Telekhine's onboard, plus their jailer.

That guy, Bellephrom. He spent the entire week they were imprisoned here watching us, rarely ever leaving to eat or anything. He never spoke or even seemed to acknowledge our presence, yet somehow he managed to always keep watch of us.

"Because," I said quietly, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Bellerophon was gone, probably back on patrol. "I have a feeling that where they're taking us to the same place we want to go."

Mike grunted and sat down on the tiny seat which was nothing more than a plank of wood held up by chains on either side. He slumped back and tapped his hands on his arms. "Still, I'd rather go there a free man and not as a prisoner in chains."

I chuckled dryly and shook my head. "True, but wouldn't that be dramatic. Us bursting out of the ship and fighting our way to the island."

Even Mike had to chuckle slightly and shake his head. "Ya, I supposed that would be pretty cool," He gestured all around them, the dark and dank cells. "but until then I guess we're still stuck here."

"Yup," I replied and sat back down beside him. Slowly I closed my eyes and started to think as the silence in the room sunk in. Despite my assurances to the rest of my friends, I felt a lump form in my throat every time I saw Sostratos. Being a Son of Hades, one of the first things I had to learn was dealing with death, whether it be with coping with it or dealing it out.

It felt almost relieving to know that at the end of all of it, there would be justice in the end. That in the end of someone's life, they'll answer for their actions, good or bad. But someone avoiding death the same way didn't sit well with me. I didn't just feel wrong, it felt unnatural and like a betrayal to what he stood for.

But that didn't change anything about what needed to be done. We all still needed to finish the quest, whether it meant killing him or not. I suddenly heard the someone throwing insults coming from the cell to my far right. I didn't even need to look out in order to know what was happening. For the past few days, while I and Mike tried to keep our distance from Bellerophon, others (Katie in particular) insisted on heckling him.

"Hey, Bell." She called out from the cell. "I finally learned who you are. You're THE Bellerophon from the myths right?"

The Greek warrior turned to her for a second. His gaze lingered on her underneath his dark helm before simply turning away as if nothing had happened. Katie puffed up her cheeks in annoyance and continued to speak. "You killed the Chimera right?"

"Grrrhh" Bellerophon grunted in annoyance and was probably the most he ever said to any of us. He gripped his spear tightly as he continued to patrol around the halls.

"Then you let it all go to your head." Katie spat out, her voice suddenly filled with venom. Her face was contorted to a nasty smile as she glared at him. "You killed one monster and you let your ego grow. You somehow thought that you deserved to be one of the gods and tried to fly to Mount Olympus. But Zeus put you in your place right-"

Without warning, his hand suddenly came up and slammed against the wall. When he looked up for the first time I saw his eyes. A pair of brown orbs that were wide and fixed on her. He glared at Katie with furious hatred. He shouted something to one of the Telekhines in an ancient, guttural tongue. The monster barked something feebly but another shout sent him scurrying towards Bellerophon with a set of bronze keys.

He looked around the ring until he pulled out the right one and placed it in the slot. The door suddenly slid open with a loud click.

* * *

 **Katie's POV**

I grinned softly as Bellerophon began to unlock the door. Now was our chance to break free, glancing at Piper who nodded softly and looked ready to charge. All week I spent trying to get a rise out of our lovely jailer and maybe bait him into a fight.

Now here he was, angrily opening the door. He barely managed to get one foot inside the cell when Piper made her move. She sprinted forward and prepared to strike. But before she could even come close to landing a blow, Bellerophon's hand suddenly came up and smacked Piper across the face and sent her tumbling to the side.

I growled in anger and moved to help, throwing my fists out at her. He blocked my attacks with his steel-clad arm and shook his head. "You'll need to do better than that."

I brought my foot up and tried to kick him, landing a blow against his breastplate. Pain shot through my leg as it clanged uselessly against the bronze breastplate. I hissed just as he backhanded me and sent me stumbling aside.

My knees nearly buckled underneath me as I stumbled to the wall. I shook my head, trying to shake off the confusion, but before I could the warrior grabbed my face and forced me to look at him, his face still obscured by his mask. "Look at me." He said in a raspy voice.

"I'd rather not, you're not exactly much of a looker." I forced a grin and looked back at him.

He growled and shoved me aside. Bellerophon held his spear at me and looked ready to impale me with it. I closed my eyes and waited for the blow. Instead, he pressed the tip under my chin and forced me to look up at him. "Do you wanna know how I killed the Chimera?"

Reaching into his quiver, I expected him to pull out an arrow, but instead, he held up a black hunk of metal. It looked like it might have been lead. He stuck the lead bar onto the point of his spear and held it up to me, pushing it against my mouth. "I shoved this down that bitch's throat until she choked on it and burned her belly out with her fire." He continued to push the thing against me until I started to taste the metal and it knocked against my teeth.

Fear started to get ahold of me but I forced it down and made myself look at him. He pulled the spear away and threw the lead back into his quiver. "You think that I managed to get off that scot-free? Like how those stupid myths said?" Before I could respond, he removed the straps of his helmet and lifted it up.

Behind me, I heard Piper gasp out in surprise. I couldn't really blame her at the sight of Bellerophon's face. Most of it was a burnt mess with skin withered and burned away, to expose his muscle and even a bit of bone in some parts, leaving only a part of his face untouched. And even on those, there were a number of scars marring it. He glared at me with those hate filled eyes. "This is what it cost me to defeat that monster. I spent years of my life being forced to fight different monsters and people. So yes, maybe I thought I deserved a reward for it or at least some recognition from the gods. I flew up to meet them and what happened? Zeus sent a horsefly to bite Pegasus and knock me from the sky." He smacked his hand against the brace on his legs. "I spent the rest of my life as a useless cripple."

"You wanted more than recognition," Piper said, slowly getting back to her feet. She glared at him while rubbing the mark on her face.

I felt my blood begin to boil as I saw that. Every fiber in me screamed to throw another punch at him but I knew how that would end up for us so I decided to hold back my attack.

"You don't know anything girl!" He spat angrily.

"I know that after everything you did you thought that you were equal to the gods and decided that you should be on Mount Olympus like them. You didn't want recognition, you wanted to be worshipped."

Piper tried not to flinch as she felt his spear appear out of nowhere and slam into the wall inches from her head so hard that it caused the stone to chip. Someone screamed from one of the other cells at the sound of it. Still, she managed to look at Bellerophon definitely.

The warrior pulled his spear back and ground his teeth in frustration. "You never knew how it was like there. Hercules, Achilles, Jason. They all grew famous for their deeds and everyone revered him, Hercules became a god for Zeus's sake. Why shouldn't I have expected different treatment?"

"None of them demanded to be a god." She retorted, though even as she said that I couldn't help but nod my head slowly in agreement. It wasn't too far off from the truth through all things considered. Every time she heard about the old myths she heard about how generous the gods were, helping mortals for simple acts of kindness, then she met them and saw that most of them were nothing like that.

"But why am I even wasting my time talking to you? What would you know of anything I said." Without another word he turned and went back up, shutting the door and an opportunity of escape with it.

* * *

 **Ryan's POV**

"Are you sure about this Ryan?" Mike asked cautiously, his voice barely above a whisper when he spoke.

I nodded my head slowly, feeling a heat radiate from my chest as I saw Bellerophon making his rounds in our cell. After his last outburst things had gone had back to normal with him practically ignoring us. As if nothing just happened and he didn't hold a blade against Katie. I nearly reached out to try and wring his neck but I forced my anger down. "Jailer!" I said to him.

As expected he ignored me and walked around while his Telekhine warriors snickered amongst themselves.

"I have a proposition for you." The only indication I got that he heard me was him craning his neck slightly in my direction, but even that was more of a passing glance as he quickly turned away. I grit my teeth in frustration. "You talked about how you were a great warrior and deserved to be a hero, well here's your chance to prove it."

This got him to stop and turn around slowly. Bellerophon walked back towards him slowly and growled. He grabbed my neck through the bars and growled. "Speak."

"I need to speak to your captain, Sostratos," I growled, gasping loudly as the air came out of me.

"Whatever you say to him, you can say to me." He insisted.

"Are you sure? You might not like it very much." I force a smile, trying to ignore the pain from the gesture.

He shoved me back and slung a spear on his shoulder. "Are you sure you truly wish to agitate me?" Bellerophon gestured to the cells were Katie and Piper were in. "After seeing what I did to your friends?"

Mike chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Yes, cause no we all know that you're able to threaten unarmed girls. How heroic of you?"

The former hero snarled in anger and jabbed his spear through the bars. It stopped short of actually piercing Mike and snagged on his shirt. The Son of Ares didn't flinch, though the color drained somewhat from his face. "Tell me what you want."

"I want a duel. Two on two." I rasped, spitting on the ground between his feet.

Bellerophon paused, his hand slowly leaving my throat. I quickly suck in a breath and lean against the bars. A low noise escaped from his throat and I realized that it sounded amused, it sounded suspiciously like laughter. "Are you that mad that you would challenge me and Sostratos to a duel?"

"I thought you were a useless cripple." Mike sneered and glared at him.

"Careful Son of Ares." Bellerophon's voice lowered to a quiet growl. "If you truly wish to do this then I will deliver your message." With that, he turned and left without another word. The hall was silent for a long while, even the Telekhines have gone quiet and simply stared at the empty hallways.

A few minutes later he returned and took the keys from a surprised Telekhine. Even underneath his armor, I can tell he wasn't happy. "The Captain agreed to meet with you." He said as he unlocked the door and brought us out.

As he led us out of the brig, Katie leaned forward from her bars and whispered to me. "Ryan. What the hell are you doing?"

I smiled nervously and shrugged. "I have no idea really. Wish me luck."

Katie nodded grimly. "Goodluck."

Soon we were upstairs on the deck where Sostratos was waiting for us. He still had a napkin wrapped around his neck as he probably was pulled out of lunch. "So I hear that you wish to fight me? Why is that?"

I made sure to chose my words carefully when I spoke to them. If I wanted to win them over then I needed to say the right things to them. "You captain claimed that you were able to avoid death right?"

He chuckled and nodded. "If you only asked me out here to boast about my accomplishments then you only needed to ask. Yes, I did do that."

"Outsmarting an idiot like Minos is one thing, but what about a real challenge?"

"Oh?" And what exactly would that be?" He asked casually and yawned. "You?"

I nodded. "What would be a greater challenge than fighting a child of death himself. If you defeat me then you prove beyond any doubt that you have conquered death."

"Hmm, an interesting idea." He said idly and scratched his chin. The Pirate looked away towards the sea and tapped his fingers against the railing. His expression was intrigued like he was genuinely considering it. I felt my hopes begin to blossom in my chest.

"But why bother risk is?" Bellerophon interrupted, stepping between us and glaring at me. This seemed to snap Sostratos out of his reverie and slowly nodded his head in agreement. He leveled his spear at his and probed it questioningly. "Why risk death for the privilege of bragging that he killed a godling. What are we to gain from this?"

Mike seemed to understand where I was heading and quickly jumped in. "Well, that shouldn't be a problem for a brilliant pirate like you. You were able to outsmart death once, I'm sure you can do it again." Seeing Sostratos smile indulgently to himself, Mike quickly moved onto Bellerophon. "And you who were wronged by the gods. What better way to strike at them than defeating your children in single combat."

He lowered his spear a fraction and seemed at a lost for words. Finally, he spoke after a few tense moments of silence. "Very well, I accept your challenge. But I have a condition of my own. I wish to claim something from you when I win."

"Agreed, but if we win we gain our freedom," I said before adding. "and we need our weapons of course. On your word on the River Styx"

Sostratos snapped his fingers and a Telekhine threw a rolled up tarp at our feet. Inside were my spear and Mike's sword and gun. As we armed ourselves, Bellerophon twirled his spear around while Sostratos pulled a cutlass out and ran his finger on the blade. "Yes, yes. I, Sostratos swear on the river Styx and your friends will go free if you defeat me."

"I take Sostratos and you take Bellerophon," I instructed and stood directly in front of the pirate. He had a confident smirk on his face and winked at me. "Go!"

Without warning the two of us burst forward, weapons raised as we charged at the pair. I aimed my spear right at Sostratos chest, but at the last second he suddenly backpedaled and let my weapon hit the wooden deck before coming in with his cutlass lashing out in an overhead strike.

I pulled my spear free and caught the blow with the shaft. My knee came up and connected with his stomach and sent him backing away, hunched over. Beside me, Bellerophon slowly backed away step by step as Mike swung his sword at him in wide arcs. The former hero hardly seemed panicked and calmly blocked each stroke with the tip of his spear.

He stopped once he felt the heel of his foot hit the wall. Then before Mike understood what was going on, Bellerophon spun his spear in the air and smashed the blunt end against the Son of Ares's shoulder.

Hissing in pain, Mike took a step back and dropped his shoulder. The warrior whirled his spear around again and thrust the point at the center of Mike's chest. He barely managed to hop back and avoid it. Growling, he held his sword with two hands and prepared to meet him again.

I turned back to Sostratos who was still doubled over in pain, one hand clutching his stomach. I advanced slowly and aimed at his neck. Then as quick as a viper his sword came up and batted my spear aside. The pirate smirked as he jumped to his feet, his sword cutting towards me face and would have succeeded if I hadn't jerked to the side and instead it only nicked the lobe of my ear.

Before he could attack again I moved to the side, my feet slipping on the moist decks. Slowly I began to circle around him. He was a lot better swordsman than I first thought, but his cutlass didn't have the same reach as my spear. A dance began to form between us, with one taking a step forward or back and the other reacting accordingly all the while our weapons rang together, probing and testing the other. That was our music.

As Sostratos began to drift towards my right. I vaguely noticed Mike and Bellerophon to my right. If I and Sostratos were dancing then those two were wrestling. The slayer of the Chimera had the advantage in armor and a longer weapon, but he was slower and more than once did Mike manage to get inside his defense and hack his sword at his armor. So far that had been the only thing that kept Bellerophon from injury.

Though the next time Mike pulled away I noticed his free hand rubbing a nasty dark bruise on his sword arm. That would slow him down. In this moment of weakness, Bellerophon came crashing hard onto Mike, jabbing his spear savagely like a viper stinging its prey. Mike barely managed to block or redirect them as he dropped to one knee.

The sound of steel whistling through the air brought me back to the present. I instinctively turned to my right where I last saw him, but to my surprise, the pirate was now on my left and caught be on my left abdomen. He danced to my right and swung a backhanded blow towards my arm. I brought my spear up and our weapons clanged once again. The blow jarred my arm but I quickly flicked my wrist and pivoted to the side, using my momentum to slam the butt of my spear against his face.

He stumbled, but only for a moment as he caught his footing and glared at me, blood dripping from his cheek. But rather than attacking, he let out a long whistle and one of the Telekhines appeared and threw him a round shield. "You bastard!." I shouted angrily as I slid towards him and tried to skewer his legs.

Sostratos jerked his foot aside and he smirked at me. "There's a funny thing about us pirates. We don't like to play fair."

Before I could react, he jabbed his shield at my chest. I threw my head back as the air left my body and I feel hard on my back. As I lay there, I spotted Mike still dueling with Bellerophon. He wasn't in any better position, a gash had ripped his shirt down the middle to reveal a number of nasty cuts left over and more shallow wounds were on his arms and shoulders that were likely wearing him out. He was on one knee while Bellerophon growled and advanced slowly.

The Son of Ares panted heavily as he brought himself back up with great effort, then he lunged at him, swinging the pommel of his sword at Bellerophon's head. His helmet came flying off to reveal his disfigured face.

Mike snarled and forced him down, smashing the pommel of his sword against his face, snarling in defiance. I rolled to my side as Sostratos's cutlass came whistling towards me. I tried to kick him in the chest but his shield blocked me and instead, I slid back and jumped to my feet. "There's a funny thing about death though," I said, forcing myself to grin.

He crouched down slightly and kept his shield between us. The pirate's eyes were only visible above the rim. He moved more cautiously and a look of uncertainty crossed his face.

"You can't run from death forever," I said as I raised my hands and suddenly a shadowy hand formed on the ground behind him and grabbed his sword arm. Sostratos screamed in surprise as another hand appeared and grabbed his other arm. The two limbs forced him to his knees. Slowly I picked up my spear and twirled it around before thrusting it into the ground.

A portal suddenly began to open at his feet. Sostratos's eyes widened as he saw this. He struggled desperately against the pull of the hands as they dragged him down. He was putting up a lot more fight than I expected but in the end, he would fall like everyone else.

I glanced back at Mike who struggled to drive his sword into Bellerophon's chest. The latter had his arms out, blocking the blade from entering his body, but it was a losing fight. Soon the Celestial bronze started to dig into his skin, dust starting to appear in the place of blood as it dug in deeper.

Bellerophon screamed out as his hands started to weaken and with one quick shove, Mike drove the rest of the blade in. He didn't wait for Bellerophon to finishing dissolving and stood up, nodding towards me.

I nodded back and turned around, waving my spear in the air to the Telekhines who were watching. "You all heard his promise. This ship is ours now! Unless anyone else wants to fight us for it?" It was a lie of course. Neither I or Mike were in any position to actually handle another fight, but they didn't need to know that.

The sea demons screamed in terror and didn't waste any more time in hanging around. They all leaped into the water and desperately swim away, leaving the two of us alone on the deck. "Come on," I said, beginning to head back down. "lets free the others."


	11. Chapter 11

**Sam's POV**

"Keep your guard up Sam." Aqua chided me and flicked her wrist. Her water whip struck the floor in front of me, sending droplets of water to fly to my face and for me to jolt back into the fight. I raised my short sword and nodded.

The two of us circled each other slowly, staring the other right in the eye as we waited, watching for the other to make the first move. Aqua moved like a water snake, twisting and slithering her limbs around. "Watch your feet." She instructed.

I frowned and glanced down, wondering if my stance was off or something. Her whip suddenly wrapped around my arm. I screamed as she yanked the scourge back and dragged me to the ground. "What did I just say!" She began to wrap the thing in her hands and pull me towards her.

I slashed my sword down and felt the water disconnect from her weapon, the now sedentary water dropping to the ground in a useless puddle. Before she could attack again I leaped to my feet and held my sword up defensively. This time when her attacks struck, I managed to parry them.

Slowly I forced my feet forward to advance while Aqua gritted her teeth and struck again with her scourge. I managed to parry two attacks before the third one got under my defense. The point of the whip struck my chest and sent me back, the water already seeping into my shirt and making the fabric heavy.

The water Nymph smirked as she opened her hand and let the weapon vanish. She slowly raised her arms up as water from the two skins in her belt shot forward like bullets.

I quickly dove forward to avoid them and lunge at her, as I got a few inches from her I felt the water stroke my side. It was like being struck with a phone book and I soon felt myself losing my footing and stumbling to the side. Aqua placed her foot on my chest and held her hand out, a trident began to form around the water collecting in her hands. "Yield?"

Slowly, I raised my hands up. "I yield."

She nodded and extended her hand out to help me. I gratefully took it and helped me to my feet. "You're getting better at this." She complemented and glanced around, frowning when she saw the setting sun as if only just realizing what time it was. "Wow, we've been at this for a long time, alright let's call it a day."

I nodded, sighing with relief as my body was aching all over. I sheathed my sword and rubbed a bruise on my arm. The two of us have only been training for maybe an hour and a half but Aqua was a tough fighter. I would have preferred starting earlier when the sun was still out, but

after hours of scouring over the ship for anything useful, maps, charts and any other information that might be helpful in finding Perses. Eventually, we found a charter that marked up several islands, it was the best we got and now Ryan was now sailing us in that direction.

"Hey Sam," Aqua said and tugged at my shirt sleeve. When I turned to her she pointed down below. "Come on it's time for healing."

I nodded and gestured for her to lead the way. After Mike and Ryan got us out, Mike got banged up pretty badly and was bedridden for the rest of the day at least. Aqua had insisted that I begin learning how to heal since I was the Son of Apollo. It wasn't something I'm particularly looking forward to, the most I ever learned about healing someone was properly apply a band-aid. "Are you sure about this?" I asked nervously and remained behind her while Aqua opened the door to Mike's room.

She nodded determinedly. Her eyes shone with unshed tears as she opened the door and I sighed, hoping that I might be able to help. Mike was laid on his bed, grunting softly in greeting as he turned to us.

I nodded in greeting and glanced up at his bare chest to take a look at his injuries. They weren't particularly bad but he had over a dozen assorted wounds all over his body that wore him down and left him barely able to stand. I gently gestured for him to lay down as I finished examining him.

Aqua handed me my guitar case and I shakily took it, nodding my head. I took out my guitar and tuned it carefully. I saw Will do this back at camp, he would play a couple of songs and the wounds would begin to heal faster. I thought of some of those campfire songs they played during the bonfire and started to play some.

The cuts on his bodies began to be surrounded by a faint gold aura, it flickered around as I sang, but slowly became more solid and remained. Mike's expression began to relax as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He sighed as the wounds seemed to slow bleeding while the bruises seemed to fade somewhat.

By the time I finished, he miraculously wasn't dead and seemed to be in better shape. Aqua touched my shoulder and looked at me with a grateful smile. "Thank you." She whispered and sat down beside Mike.

I smiled back and nodded, making sure both of them were ok before heading out. Sighing, I began to head back to my own room when I suddenly bumped into Piper. She stumbled back but looked up at me and smiled nervously. "Oh, sorry Sam I didn't see you there."

"It's fine," I said and smiled at her. "So where are you headed?"

She flushed suddenly. "Oh? Me? I was just walking around when I heard that song you were playing and I was curious."

"Oh, me I was just trying to heal Mike. Aqua was pretty sure that I could do it and convinced me to try." I explained and started to fix my guitar, putting it back into its case. "I think he ended up a bit better now. I hope so at least."

"Well, that's good." She said and the two of us started to walk together. "I hope he's alright."

I rubbed the back of my neck and smiled. "Ya, he's doing alright, I'd say with some rest he could be back on his feet within a few days."

"Enough time for him to rest before our next fight." She said as she made her way to her room and smiled at me. "Wanna come in with me? I could use the company and I'm not doing anything."

A smile slowly started to form on my lips as I nodded and followed her in. The room was just as sparsely furnished as mine, though a lot cleaner. Piper sat down on her bed and patted the spot beside her.

I set my guitar down on the counter next to her and moved next to her. "So what did you wanna do?" I asked curiously and removed my sword belt as well, letting that drop on the floor in front of me.

"Well, I was wondering what song you were playing a while ago." She asked.

"Oh, it's an old hymn for Apollo," I replied and tried to remember what exactly it was called but failed. "Will thought me how to sing it before so I can properly heal people, apparently only Apollo's songs can work."

Piper made a face. "So what? Does he only choose songs from his playlist or something?"

I chuckled and shrugged playfully. "How should I know. Maybe he pre-approves the list while riding in his sun chariot."

"That would explain why it's hot as hell these days," Piper said, tugging at her shirt and giggling a little bit. She smiled and looked at my guitar almost shyly. "Would you mind playing a few songs for me?"

I looked at my guitar in surprise, slowly removing it from its case again and feeling a smile form on my face. Slowly I nodded my head and made a few practice strums. "Well, I don't see why not."

With that I began to strum on it with my pick, playing the first few notes as my voice sang along with the melody. I chose the one I remembered liking the most when Will showed me the songs. This was probably like my second time playing it, but the melody came out so naturally that it was as if I've been playing it my entire life.

Before I even realized what I was doing, I was playing another song and another until I sang nearly every single song on the list. Piper was now on the floor, her elbows resting on her bed while her face, in turn, rested on her hands. She looked at me in awe as she got up. "Wow, well you certainly are a Son of Apollo."

Piper smiled and stood up. "How did you learn to play like that."

I shrugged and rubbed my fingers as I just realized how tired they were and started to cramp. "I'm not entirely sure either Piper, I guess it sort of just came to me."

"Well, it was great." She said and clapped me on the shoulder. "I always wanted to learn a guitar you know."

"Really now?" I asked as adjusted my position so she'll have more space. "I learned to play mine when I was younger, my mom owned a music shop so after class, she showed me a little bit."

"Cute." The Daughter of Aphrodite giggled and shook her head. "Well I wanted to when I was first started in High School," She said gesturing around. "but as you can see things got pretty hectic with quests and adventures."

I laughed. "That's one way to put it. So I'm guessing you and Jason got into some pretty wild rides."

The smile slowly vanished from her face before I fully understood what I just said and clamped my mouth shut. I cursed silently as I sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

I was about to get up and leave when I felt her hand on my own. Piper slowly shook her head and frowned. "Listen, it's not like I can avoid talking about it forever," She paused for a moment. "And you trusted me to talk about yourself, I guess I owe you that at least."

She sighed and looked to be collecting her thoughts. "Alright, where to begin, alright some and Jason arrived in camp together, before that we went to the same school."

"Together?" I asked.

"No, well yes. It's a long story but regardless we were both parts of this big Prophecy called the Prophecy of the Seven. For almost a year we were together, fighting and adventuring to fulfill this thing. We really only started dating around that point and after so much work, we finally finished the Prophecy."

She smiled softly, recalling a fond memory. "After that, we were pretty happy for a while, but soon he had other duties to take care of. You see he took this role called the Pontifex Maximus which meant that he was sort of the head priest for Jupiter so he was kept busy all the time. We grew apart slowly until we eventually just agreed to break up."

I nodded at her in stone silence as the conversation dried up like a river. We sat there together, I tapped my fingers absently against my lap. Slowly I began to move my fingers towards her hand. Piper turned to me slowly in surprise, but slowly a smile started to form on her lips.

I squeezed it tightly and leaned forward and pulled her into a hug. Piper returned it without a moment's hesitation. A warm feeling started to spread across my chest as she rested her head on my body. I chuckled as she nuzzled me and smiled. "Thanks."

"For what?" I asked, not entirely sure how to respond.

She glanced up with a kind smile. "For being here."

I took her hand in my own, holding it tightly as I leaned forward until we were almost nose to nose. "I'll always be here for you Piper. No matter what."

Her cheeks twisted upwards as she pushed herself against me and my mouth suddenly mashed against hers. Her lips were soft and as red as rubies, I could still taste the lemon toothpaste she used.

She pulled away from me without warning. Her face morphed into one of annoyance as she looked at the door. "Katie! Aqua!" Piper shouted and stamped her foot.

Both girls came shuffling into the room, looking at their feet nervously as they entered. Despite that, they both didn't even try to hide their giggles as Katie cleared her throat. "It's about damn time."

Piper didn't seem amused at this and simply folded her arms impatiently. She remained silent and tapped her foot as she waited for the others to say anything. "Funny, hey Aqua go jump into the sea and tell the Nereids that their attitude is just like their water. Salty. Katie, why don't you go dance in your underpants again."

I felt my cheeks turn red as I heard those threats. They sounded so ridiculous that I doubted whether they would even do it. But the two girls suddenly bristled and Aqua rushed away while Katie started to unbutton her jeans.

"Look away or you'll lose your balls," Piper whispered darkly into my ear. I nodded quickly, not needing anymore charmspeak for that and quickly covered my eyes as I heard her footsteps disappear down the hall.

When I looked around both of the girls were gone while Piper was back on her bed, waiting for me patiently. "So where were we?" She smiled.

* * *

I didn't leave Piper's room until Ryan practically barged in and told us to eat some dinner. We giggled and nodded at him before making our way down to the mess hall where the others were already waiting for us.

"Where's Katie and Aqua?" I asked and looked around, seeing that they were the only ones not there. Even Mike was already down there with Ryan helping him sit down. Aqua suddenly appeared from the kitchen, glaring at the two of us, despite looking like a Naiad, she looked soak for once with her hair a mess of tangled strands and seaweed.

She shook her head around like a dog and sent water flying everywhere."They did not like what I told them!" Aqua shouted accusingly as she sat down and sighed, helping Mike with her. "As for Piper, she's probably in Equestria."

Everyone started to snicker, even Ryan barely managed to suppress a snicker. "Ya, she's been trying to change clothes after her little performance. I didn't know she liked My Little Pony." Mike remarked.

"How did you figure that out?" I asked.

Ryan quickly silenced the Son of Ares and shook his head. "Let's just stay you'll learn a lot about a person with what they wear."

I felt my face turning bright red as I burst into laughter. Piper smacked my shoulder, though she seemed just as amused. "So anyway, where will we be going now?"

Everyone nodded more seriously as they sat down on the table. Ryan nodded and sat on the table. "Well, after we found Sostratos' map I thought that we might go and check some of the islands that he marked, there must be something important there."

"That seems like a good plan," Piper said and nodded her head. "But what are we looking for?"

Aqua shot me a look and I felt my heartbeat quicken. She was the only one who knew about my dream and so far hadn't told anyone thankfully. I nodded and sighed slowly.

"I think that Sam might have something to tell you guys," Aqua announced to the rest of them.

Everyone turned to me, Ryan glancing at me suspiciously as he waited for an explanation. I took my glass and filled it with water, taking a deep gulp as slowly began to tell them everything about my dream, not leaving out a single detail.

By the time I finished they were all silent. "I've heard of that place and this Diomedes," Mike said first.

"He was one of Hercules's trials right?" Ryan added.

He nodded, lowering his head closer to the table. "Ya, he owned four stallions that ate nothing but human flesh. Hercules's task was to retrieve them but King Diomedes refused to give them up as he used them to feed his enemies to them. Hercule killed him and used the King as food for his horses which tamed them for a short while."

"Gross," I muttered.

They all nodded at the sentiment. "So if he's back and working with these two Titans then something can't be right and I wanna find out why."

"And we will." Piper agreed. "Do you think that you can find this island?"

Ryan nodded. "I think I might be able to with some time."

I clapped my hands together and smiled, still relieved that none of them are upset about my dream. "So it's all settled then? We find this island and we stop these guys."

"Well if you can find this entire island, then maybe you could find my pants?" Katie's voice suddenly rang out from outside the door.

The tension slowly started to disappear as we started to laugh at them. "Katie comes on, you're already wearing something so come and get something to eat."

She sighed audibly and emerged in the doorway, thankfully now with shorts instead of her underwear. Katie glared at each of us as if daring us to laugh and sat down beside Ryan and started to get food for herself. But even with her angry look, it was hard to take her too seriously and we still snickered a bit.

Ryan smiled gently and placed a hand on her shoulder. Katie's expression slowly softened as she nodded. "So where are your pants, Katie?" Piper asked finally to break the silence.

"You tell me." She countered.

Another bout of laughter started once again as the Daughter of Hermes buried her face in her hands, she mumbled something but smiled softly. "Yes, I suppose it was pretty funny, but just watch out you guys. I know where you sleep and I'm not afraid to leave a little something for all of you."

Suddenly, the whole room fell silent as everyone looked at her, suddenly regretting their laughter as Katie smirked and twirled her fork on her finger.


	12. Chapter 12

**Piper's POV**

I looked over the edge of the ship at the rocky shoreline of Diomedes palace. The rocky cliffs which rose straight up. That along made it impossible to land here, and that wasn't even considering the violent waves that crashed against its side and would have shattered the ship against the rocks if we got any closer.

Ryan was looking from the captain's room and stared at the place with his usual brooding expression. He picked up his Wii remote and started to shake it up and down violently. I could hear the metallic links of the anchor dropping, followed by a loud splash.

There were about seven feet between us and the cliffside. Seven feet of roaring waves and very sharp rocks. "Why did we land here?" I questioned, looking at the rock and feeling a bit sick in the stomach. Swimming would have suicide and I doubt Aqua would be able to control the water.

Ryan leaped off the side and ran a rag across his spear, cleaning the blade until it gleamed in the dawn light. He examined it for a second before nodding and changing it back to its ring form. "Because this is the only place they won't expect us to be."

"Fair enough." I nodded and glanced around at the area, there were no guards or towers in sight, this unlike the rest of the island. We arrived two days ago and spent one of them circling the place to find a suitable entry point, all this while dodging patrols of ships and soldiers moving around. "But that still doesn't answer the question of how we get up there."

Katie appeared beside us and crouched down, the wings of her shoes flapping eagerly. She smirked at me and gave us a two-fingered salute. Ryan drew his spear slowly. "I can shadow travel us to the top, though I don't think I can bring more than one."

I nodded and made sure that my sword was properly attached to my belt. "Alright, let's go."

Ryan grabbed me by my shoulder and led us away from the sunlight towards the shade as Katie flew into the air and towards the top of the cliff. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as the shadows started to move, forming a wave that begins to wash over us.

From the earth's normal speed, things sped up to light speed. Everything around us went dark as our bodies moved upwards, the shadows continued to pull us forward. My body felt frozen stiff as I tried to rub my head. When I opened my mouth to scream the words froze in my throat. Just when it felt as if my skin was starting to peel off my face, the two of us came to an abrupt stop.

I nearly fell over but Ryan caught my arm and pulled me back up to my feet. We were now standing on the cliffside, just underneath a mango tree. He looked completely unaffected by the process.

Katie appeared from the cliffside a moment later, flying a few feet above us. She dropped to a roll and looked at us. "Hey, guys."

"About time you got up here princess," Ryan remarked and ruffled her hair. "What took you so long."

"I stopped for tea," Katie replied and stuck her tongue out playfully. She started to roll her shoulders.

Ryan crouched down and looked over the edge towards the ship. "Well, I suppose I should try getting the other people up here."

Katie pulled her tongue back and frowned with concern. She squeezed his shoulder tightly. "Ryan, are you sure that you're up to that? You don't want to overextend yourself."

He grabbed her hand and twirled his girlfriend towards him. He pecked her forehead and nodded. "I'll be fine Princess. Don't worry, if I get tired I'll take a breather."

"Good." The Daughter of Hermes seemed more reassured and nodded. Still, she didn't look that pleased with the idea. "Now you better get going."

Ryan nodded and walked over to the mango tree. He closed his eyes and the shadows formed around him and dragged him to the ground. It started to move downwards like a liquid ooze.

"Holy Zeus that's creepy when you see it," I remarked and stared at him leave.

Katie was hovering a couple feet in the air. "Yes, it is. That's why I prefer to fly."

She dropped to a crouch and propped herself down on a nearby rock. I followed her and sat down beside her. Katie retracted the wings of her shoes and started cleaning the bottoms with a knife. "Do you think Ryan's ok?" She mumbled quietly.

I resisted the urge to laugh as I saw the adorable frown on her face. "Aww Katie, are you that worried about him?"

Katie nodded slowly and looked around. "He likes to overextend himself. Sometimes that boy is as stubborn as a minotaur and he won't stop till he drops."

I smiled and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "Katie you worry too much. Ryan's a smart guy, I'm sure he'll know not to push himself too far." I patted her cheek and relaxed.

"Are you hitting on me or something?" She giggled playfully as she finished picking dirt out from her sneakers. I glanced down and saw some moss stuck on my boot. She handed me her knife and I started to go to work. "Cause you know I'm already taken."

Rolling my eyes, I scrapped a little bit off and flicked it towards the ground. "Oh don't flatter yourself, you'd be lucky to land a girl like me."

"Ya, a girl who can manipulate me into doing whatever she wants." Katie pointed out and stamped her other foot on the ground.

"If I could, you'd be wearing a nice blouse instead of that stupid hoodie." I retorted, pulling the hood over her head.

I finished cleaning my boots when Katie looked at her other foot and wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "I could have sworn I just cleaned this."

Piper looked at her own boot and scowled. Like what Katie said, there was a fresh layer of moss now clinging to it. She used her dagger to scrape some of it off. The moss was fresh, almost as if it just grew at the moment.

"I think we can help you with that missy." A voice suddenly called out from the forests. The bushes in front started to rustle as someone started to approach. Katie and I had our swords out in an instant and pointed at them.

"Whoever you better tread carefully, you don't wanna know who you're messing with," I warned and got to my feet cautiously, adding a bit of Charmspeak into my voice.

The footsteps suddenly slowed down as three figures emerged out from the forest. The Satyrs raised their hands and advanced with measured steps as if walking through a minefield. Katie winked at me and held a sword and dagger in her hands. "Which one of you guys wants to die first?"

The one to the left, who had a set of reed pipes in his hands quickly shook his head. He smiled apologetically at us. "No need for violence moss. Pardon us for disturbing a couple of fine ladies like yourselves," His two companions snickered. " I and my friends were just practicing our music. Allow me."

He placed the pipes back into his mouth and started to play a rapid-fire tune. Katie lifted her sneaker up and the moss peeled right off like a sticker. She nodded, satisfied and relaxed her sword arm a fraction.

The trio was visibly relieved by this and one with a long goatee spoke up. "See, no need for unnecessary bloodshed, just a little misunderstanding is all."

"Indeed it was." I agreed and lowered my sword after a moment. "Sorry for the threats. We're not really used to magic being harmless."

The reed pipes guy put his pipes away and chuckled. "Aye, and we're not really used to having company around save for that whinny king Diomedes and his buddies. Especially not lovely girls like you." He added with a wink.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as the shortest one cleared his throat. "Speaking of which, what brings you two here anyhow? A couple of witches or something."

That last sentence was laced with a bit of fear as they backed away a step. Judging by Katie's face, she looked half-tempted to just go along with that excuse and say she was a sorceress.

"We're Demigods on a quest," I spoke up and shot Katie a quick look while she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"And what exactly is your quest?"

"To find the Titans and kill them," Katie said firmly. "At least I hope so."

They all nodded to each other and whispered amongst themselves. Mr. Goatee was the first one who turned and faced us. "Oh well, then I and my friends must be obligated to help you and your friend on your quest."

I surprised by the news. "Really now? Well, that would indeed be very helpful. I and my friend here would be very grateful for any assistance."

They all started to let out wide, toothy grins. "Then it looks like we're in business. We just need you and your friend to come with us to the forest so we can sneak you into the palace."

Katie placed her hand in front of me and drew her dagger with the other. "Into the dark, creepy forest? Ya, I don't think so."

Shorty grinned at her. "C'mon miss, don't tell me you're scared of a few trees. A couple of powerful Demigods like you should be able to deal with us no problem if we betrayed you."

"True enough, but there's a difference between fighting a pickpocket and giving him your wallet." Katie retort with a smirk of her own. "I'd know."

The reed pipes guy sighed with disappointment. "I was hoping to do this without bloodshed, but oh well."

He suddenly played another tune, this time just whistling it. The limp moss suddenly sprung to life and wrapped around our feet, expanding in size rapidly like a sponge in water and soon wrapped around our legs.

"Hey, what the heck!" Katie cried out in surprise as she tried to struggle free. Her gaze fell onto the Satyr playing the reed pipes. She flicked her wrist and hurled her dagger forward at them.

A wooden slab suddenly flashed in between the two of them and stopped the dagger a few inches from Reed Pipes face. He smirked and Mr. Goatee lowered his wooden shield that he summoned of nowhere and pulled out a long dagger. The short Satyr did the same advanced.

Katie grinned and prepared to meet them, but the first goatman casually whistled another tune. Suddenly something started to push out from the moss. It was a strange white and lilac flower bud. It was almost as big as my fist and started to grow out until it was facing her directly.

It started to bloom out into a flower, causing a look of part confusion and part worry to cross Katie's face. From its stigma, the flower blew a burst of dark purple pollen directly at her. She would have taken a step back but her legs were still bound by the moss. Instead, Katie blinked several times to try and clear her eyes as her body started to sway back and forth, then she fell. The moss peeled away and Katie crumpled to the ground.

Shorty walked over to Katie's fallen body and easily her hoisted her over her shoulder. His friends formed a loose circle around me. I was about to open my mouth to scream, but the Reed Pipes guys placed a finger on my lips. "Don't scream, and there's no need to worry about your friend, she's not dead. That flower was just a special little concoction we made for our hostages."

"Hostage?" I growled and kept my sword ready, causing the Satyr to dance back.

"Yes," The short one added. "You'll see."

"Come on girlie, don't be stupid." The one with the goatee said. He was the one closest to me and took another forward, his knife flicking against my chin. "The last thing we want to do is ruin that cute face of yours."

I felt a sense of fear clamp around my chest as I felt the cold steel pressing against my flesh. Taking a deep breath, I swallowed back that fear that was slowly building up. I nodded and lowered my sword.

Mr. Goatee nodded smugly and ripped the sword from my grasp. Reed Pipes pressed a fire hardened spear against my back. "Then you better start marching then." He let out a quick whistle and the moss disappeared from my legs. Instead, it crawled up my jeans, leaving them slimy and stained. Before I could scream it leaped into my arms and binding them together. I tugged at it twice, testing the strength but it was stronger than glue.

Slowly, I started to walk forward, staying in the middle of their small group as they made their way into the forest. The branches above us shook as two more Satyr's dropped down and held their spears ready. I glanced at my friend and felt as if a cold washcloth was dropped over my neck. Katie was twice as good a swordfighter than I was, if she was awake then maybe we might have been able to take them, but not alone.

Ryan was still nowhere to be seen along with the rest of our group. He must have been too tired to transport everyone else. The Satyr suddenly shoved me to the ground over some leaves and Shorty unceremoniously dropped Katie beside me.

I took a deep breath and looked around at my captors, trying to get a hold of everything that was happening. The situation didn't seem as bad as it seemed at first. None of them seemed exceptionally prepared for this capture and an only two remained to guard the two of us, Shorty and one of the newcomers. The rest went up the tree or went about their business.

Still, fighting was out of the question, I swung a decent enough sword, I could take two or three of them but the rest would eventually overwhelm me, especially considering that they actually have some potent magic. The only thing I could really do was buy time.

"Well, I'm your prisoner," I said, throwing her hands up in the air. "Now that I'm your prisoner could you guys at least tell me what you're going to do?"

The other guards rolled his eyes and raised his cudgel above his head. Shorty shook his head and told him to take a step back. "Now, now she does make a good point, I suppose we can tell her. We're going to ransom you to King Diomedes and get some assurances that he doesn't bother us and maybe a couple Drachmas."

"And what makes you think he'll actually keep his word after you hand me over?" I questioned.

The two Satyrs looked at each other, their eyes blinking once, then twice. Clearly, neither of them had fully considered that possibility. Finally, one of the Satyrs rested his club on the ground and glared at me. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, in the meantime, you and your friend will still make us a handsome ransom."

"Yes, but it's not like you'll be able to spend it." I persisted and glanced at the two of them. "I bet the as soon as you hand us over to King Diomedes he'll send his soldiers after you."

Both of them looked a lot less sure of themselves now. "She's right." Shorty pointed out and slowly got to his feet and readied his club as if expecting someone to jump out and attack him.

"Sit down," His friend commanded sternly. "Diomedes is nothing but a wrinkled old ghost, the same thing with his soldiers. Besides, there's five of us and one of him."

"Five of him and the Titans," I said offhandedly, checking my nails for dirt.

The short Satyr's eyes widened in horror as he dropped his spear to the ground. He burst into a run and started dancing off into the trees, quickly vanishing from sight.

Once he was gone I looked up at the remaining guard and smiled innocently. "Nice friend you got there."

He threw his hands up in frustration and leaped to his feet. His dagger was suddenly in hand as he pointed it at me. "That's it girlie prepare to lose that pretty face of yours."

He flicked it around and pulled his arm back, preparing to cut me when another hand grabbed him by the wrist. He blinked in surprise as Ryan glared at him with his cold stare. The Satyr shrunk back in fear as Ryan moved. He easily shoved him forward towards one of the trees.

The Satyr stumbled forward and tripped on a root, slamming into a tree hard enough to cause it to shake. He barely managed to utter a soft shriek as he rolled to the side. The roots of the trees suddenly started to wrap around him and pull him towards it.

Without warning the three Satyrs dropped from above, weapons raised as they wasted no time in attacking Ryan. He dropped to a crouch and quickly started to defend himself against them, parrying their attacks with his spear. It quickly became clear that Ryan wasn't in the best shape as he was quickly forced back, just barely being able to defend himself from their attacks. One club swing even managed to hit his shoulder, jarring his arm enough to cause him to drop his spear. The others pressed in to capitalize on their attack.

The one with reed pipes backed away a step and pulled the instrument out from his pouch. Just as he was about to play something, an arrow sprouted at the back of his head and exited through his open mouth. He let out a choking sound before collapsing to the ground.

His body instantly started to change, dirt wrapping around it like a burial shroud and pulling him deeper into the earth. As he vanished from sight, a few flowers started to sprout from the ground.

Sam appeared from the edge of the forest with a bow in hand and a deadly look on his face as he notched another arrow. Ryan took this distraction as an opportunity and jabbed his spear into the gut of Mr. Goatee who let out a quick beat before dropping onto the ground as well and being replaced by a fresh patch of daisies. The last Satyr backed away nervously, he barked angrily at us as he swept his club in wide arcs to keep the two of them from getting any closer.

"Back, I said ba-ACKKK." A whip cracked and he suddenly clawed at his throat, gasping choking for air as the watery chord tightened around his throat. With a strong tug, he fell to the ground. Aqua and Mike stood over him with the latter leveling the barrel of his gun at him.

He quickly raised his hands in surrender. Aqua released the whip and left him flopping in the dirt like a fish.

"How did you guys all get up here?" I asked, slowly getting up and showing my bound hands. Sam walked over to me and swiftly cut it with his sword.

"Ryan helped us out." He said, jerking his head to the Son of Hades who was now leaning against one of the trees. Sam frowned when he saw him like that. "That teleport took a lot out of him."

He shook his head but Aqua prevented him from doing anything else. "I'm fine." Ryan insisted, looking at the Satyr. His gaze fell to Katie who was still slumped against the tree. "Is she…"

"She's fine," I assured him and patted his shoulder reassuringly. "She was just knocked out."

He bent down towards the surviving Satyr and grabbed him by the shirt. "Talk. Who do you work for?"

"We don't work for anyone!" He gasped and quickly shook his head. The Satyr's hooves slipped and stumbled against the dirt.

Ryan grabbed him back the back of his head and shoved him towards me. "Then tell me what the hell you were planning to do with them."

"We were planning to ransom them!" He squeaked quickly nearly fell over. The Satyr frantically pointed at the castle in the distance. "Get them to King Diomedes and maybe get assurances for him to leave us alone."

"That's what he told me," I informed Ryan who threw him onto the ground. He tapped his foot and suddenly a pair of ghostly hands grabbed onto his shoulders and held him back. "That should keep you busy for a while."

With that done, Ryan turned to the rest of us. "We better get going."

The winds suddenly started to blow in different directions, sending bits of leaves flying towards us as a voice crackled above us. A winged dragon suddenly flew overhead, its green scales gleaming in the light as its rider laughed and waved a broadsword almost as tall as me in the air.

"So we meet again." Pallas sneered at us.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sam's POV**

"Run!" I shouted and dove out of the way as the dragon opened its mouth and a deep red glow started to emanate from it, glowing brighter by the second. The others didn't need any encouragement and quickly scrambled in various directions as a pillar of fire shot from the dragon's maw and fell towards us.

The spot where we were standing a few seconds earlier was instantly turned into a fiery inferno, leaves and branches started to rain down from the burning trees. Pallas laughed and had the dragon swooped around, waving his sword around.

It unleashed more flames into the forest before circling around to face us. I pulled my bow out and notched an arrow. As the dragon drew closer I took aim at its rider. My mind suddenly went into overdrive, calculating the angle, factoring the strength of my arm and taking in mind the wind currents before losing.

The arrow flew straight and true, moving straight towards the titan. It would have taken him right in the chest when he suddenly whirled around and bisected the arrow with a single blow from his sword.

He pulled the reins of the dragon and it came to a stop. The Titan turned to me with a contemptuous sneer and snapped his fingers. A bow as tall as my body suddenly materialized in his hands with an arrow already notched. He pulled the bowstring back and took aim at me before firing. Piper suddenly came out of nowhere and shoved me aside just as the arrow skewered the tree behind me.

She pulled me to my feet and pulled me away towards the forest. She drew her sword as Pallas fired arrows again, but we were hidden in the trees and he didn't have a clear shot. Shouting in anger, his dragon shot up again and began to burn the rest of the forest. Ryan was shouting at the rest of our group, trying to shout something. He and the others quickly made their way towards us, careful to remain in the trees as to avoid being in the direct line of fire from the dragon's flamethrower breath.

The Satyr's and other nature spirits in the forest were all running around in panic, either to get away or put out the flames that were rapidly starting to spread. "We can't stay here," Ryan shouted as they reached us. "He'll smoke us out eventually."

"And do what?" Aqua shouted and cracked her water whip against the trees, trying to put it out and keeping it from reaching us. She backed away slowly as the flames grew too powerful for her to stop. "Go out in the open and roasted alive?"

"Whatever we do, we better do it fast." Katie interrupted as she pointed at the sky. The dragon started to turn around and began to prepare for another attack.

"Start moving guys!" Mike shouted and waved his hand back. Mike and I quickly began firing at the beast to slow it down. Bullets and arrow pinged harmlessly off the monsters hide but it at least kept its attention on us. Ii could hear the others footsteps as they started to run across the ground.

After a few more rounds, we joined them and started to make a run for it, our feet pounding against the hard earth. With my last arrow, I closed my eyes and started to pray to my father for help. One small thing.

Suddenly I spun around on my heel and dropped to a crouch. The dragon regarded me curiously but Pallas simply waved its hands and the beast prepared to burn me alive as flames started to build up.

I closed my eyes and launched my arrow. Suddenly the dragon was screaming, throwing its body back and thrashing wildly. Pallas roared in anger as he struggled to reign in dragon back under control. My arrow didn't even come close to hitting him, instead, it simply fell to the ground a few feet in front of me.

As I turn around I catch a glimpse of the arrowhead, the metal tip had a golden light surrounding it that was slowly fading. I said silent thanks and quickly caught up with the rest of the group. The dragon was still roaring in frustration as it blinked rapidly, trying to regain its vision.

"I don't know how long I distracted it." I gasped and panted slightly. My legs were burning and begging me to sit down and take a break, but my ears told me that wasn't possible.

Ryan closed his eyes and suddenly a fissure appeared on the, ground behind us. Dozens of hands started to claw their way up on the dirt. Skeletons started to stand in formation with bows and arrows. "This should buy us some time."

In unison, all the archers fired at the dragon, arrows bouncing against his scaly chest. We soon made our way towards a series of rocks and took cover behind them. Judging by the sizzling sound of flames, Ryan's distraction didn't end well. The sky was already darkening with the smoke and it looks like it's night time instead of early afternoon that it was.

"How the hell do we fight that thing?" Ryan asked and glanced up from the rock and looked at the dragon, bits of the missile sticking out from it.

Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I can try something." Her sneakers wings flapped eagerly. "I'm the only one who can fly and meet that guy in battle."

"You tried that once Katie." I reminded her. "It didn't end well."

"Sam's right Piper, don't be crazy." Piper agreed and shook her head, her voice was getting frantic and nervous.

"I don't need to beat that guy," Katie replied calmly and drew her sword. "I just need to distract him."

Ryan was about to open his mouth to protest, but Katie already did a backflip into the air and started to fly, her winged sneakers carrying her upwards. She tucked her body to reduce air resistance as locked eyes against the dragon.

Pallas growled and kicked the dragon in the ribs to get it to blow another gout of flames. Katie veered forward, barely managing to dodge it, the tips of her brown hair were singed by the wire though.

He notched arrows from his bow and started to rain arrows down on her. She swooped down underneath the dragon, hacking her sword against its side and belly, ducking underneath its claws.

I looked up and fired a few arrows up to try and help her, but most don't even come close to hitting him and just fall short.

"We need to go," Ryan said, getting up. His voice was grim and full of barely restrained frustration, but he begins to jog off. "If Katie will really distract this guy, then we better make it count."

We all now slowly in agreement and follow him out. I spare one more glance at the fight, Katie dancing around Pallas while avoiding another column of fire aimed at her face.

Aqua places a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about Katie too much Sam," She says and offers me a smile, though it doesn't quite reach her face. "She can take care of herself."

Mike nods, keeping his rifle raised as he watches our flank. "Ya, she's no stranger to fights."

In front of us, Ryan grunts and looks away, though he manages to smile weakly while moving. I immediately understand that they're not saying that not just for me, but for Ryan and the others as well. I nod and keep going, keeping my bow ready. We quickly dart through the grasslands and before we know it, the dragon disappears from sight. I glance to my side and see Piper

"Village up ahead," Ryan announced suddenly. He stopped moving and crouched down behind the hill.

We all stop and get behind him and ready our weapons ready, getting ready for another fight. Piper crawls up next to him and frowns. "What do you see there? Whats going on?"

"I don't see anyone outside," He replies and narrows his eyes and tries to get a better look. "I do see a couple people in the town tough. They don't seem to notice us though."

"Should we approach?" I asked, reaching for my short sword. I wasn't looking forward to meeting the locals. Our last meetings didn't end well and I don't think any of us were up to fighting anyone else.

Ryan frowns and looks at the more shaded parts of the hills. "Well, I could try shadow traveling and scout ahead."

Piper quickly shakes her head and frowns. "We can't risk losing you too Ryan. If you go in there alone then you could get captured or killed. I suggest we try walking in there straight forward if they try something we can run."

We all muttered our agreement as Ryan got to his feet and readied his spear. I quickly place a hand on the shaft and shakes my head. "Maybe put that spear away. I think we'll make a better impact if we go unarmed."

The five of us begin to walk down towards the main entrance towards the village. A wooden palisade was built around the town. On it there were several guards dressed in simple tunics and armed with bows and arrows. They notched their arrows and pointed it at them. "Who goes there? State your name and business."

Ryan stepped forward and raised his hands up. "No wait, we're just fleeing here." He pauses and begins to think for a moment before I could have sworn I saw a light bulb pop up and hover above his head. "We were fleeing from the Satyr's."

The soldier's expression quickly softens and they lower their bows. "You're not the first one."

The gates suddenly begin to open as a group of people begin to move out. They were dressed in traditional greek clothes, dresses, and tunics. A number of women were there and offered us blankets.

One of the people there smiled at me. He was a pretty big guy and looked like one of those characters from greek movies, with a thick black beard and a tanned complexion. But instead of a spear or shield, he had a friendly smile. "Hello there friend. Those Satyr's have been troubling us for weeks, stealing food and other supplies as well as harassing travellers."

"Thank you." I smiled and bundled up in the blanket.

"Come on friends." He said and gestured past the crowd towards the gate. "I'm the village elder, Brasidas."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Ryan replied and nodded, offering his hand out, something the guy eagerly accepted. "We thank you for your hospitality."

"Its nothing my friend, so come and enjoy the comforts our village." He said and led us into his village. The people formed a ring around us and the gates closed shut as soon as we were inside. I bit my lip and frowned, wondering if we made a big mistake.

Before any of us realized it, we were sitting around the fireplace of an inn as the innkeeper smiled and poured us tea. His daughter looked around nervously from behind her father's back, but soon found her courage and detached herself from him. The girl was slender with dark hair that went to her back. She looks to be about seventeen. She sat beside us and hugged her knees. "Well, how did you guys get here?"

We all exchanged looks with each other, waiting for someone else to tell her what happened but after a moment of uncomfortable silence Ryan finally sighed and rolled his eyes as if to say: fine I got this.

He touched the girl's shoulder to get her attention. "Well, we came from across the sea looking for a…" He paused to look for the right words. "A villain who attacked our people and fled here."

People leaned in closer to hear this and even some of the other patrons started to drift towards us and soon we had a little crowd. Once they stopped move around and were all focused on him, Ryan continued.

"When we got here, some of our party was attacked by the Satyr's here and ransomed to your king." He added. "The Satyr's in our land are peaceful folk, they never did things like this."

Brasidas winced and nodded. "They didn't do those kinds of things before Diomedes came back. But since our kings return they've grown paranoid and started to terrorize the people in hopes of getting something valuable to use as leverage."

"So their plan to make peace with the king is to attack his subjects?" I pointed out.

One man in the back, an off-duty guard judging by his armor raised his mug in the air with a bit of a slur on his voice. "Well, Satyr's aren't exactly the best hooves in the stable."

This drew chuckles from the other people who raised their own mugs in agreement.

The girl looked around at us. "Well, how did you escape them? I mean there was a fire near their territory. We could see the smoke all the way from here."

Ryan hesitated to answer again, I couldn't quite blame him though. "Well, someone on a dragon came and burned the forest and nearly got us too. We were caught in the blaze and barely escaped."

Brasidas grunted and sipped from his mug and wiped a few droplets tea from his lips. "You can thank our king's new friends for that. He allowed two titans into his court and they've been his war dogs ever since."

"I doubt a Titan would just work for some lowly king just like him." Piper pointed out and frowned uncertainly as she heard this. "They're planning something."

"That's what Brasidas told him." One of the guards shouted and got up. His movements stumbled around as he grabbed the big elder's shoulders. Despite his title, the man couldn't have been older than forty. "He told the king that right to his face."

He chuckled and pushed the man's arms off of him as he got up. "Well, I served in the king's royal guard for a bit before leaving."

Ryan tensed and I caught a glimpse of one of his fingers circling around his ring to summon his lance.

Apparently I wasn't the only one saw this and Brasidas simply set his mug down and waved his hand at us. "You don't need to worry about us turning you in Ryan." He said absently and yawned sleepily.

He quickly drew his lance while the rest of us jumped to his feet. The girl scurried back behind her father as the other guards tensed and started to draw their bows and spears. They slowly formed up beside Brasidas.

The four of us drew our weapons and prepared to fight just as we prepare to a fight. Thankfully before anything else happens, the village elder clears his throat and waves his arm. "We're not your enemy, now would you all be so kind as to put aside your weapons."

Ryan glanced back at the rest of us and nodded his head slowly. We all lower our weapons and wait for his command.

"I left Diomedes's royal guard for a reason." Brasidas started to explain quietly, the fire light made him seem a bit older. "That man was a cruel monsters. He often fed his guests to his four man eating stallions. Eventually some of us left his service as an act of defiance when he tried to have Hercules killed."

"Hercules?" I asked, glancing up at him. "As in the Hercules?"

He nodded his head. "Aye, the Hercules who killed him and fed him to his horses. So there's no need to worry, we don't like our king any more than you do."

"Thanks." Ryan seemed to relax. "So why the heck is your king working for these Titans?"

"Well Pallas and Perses are two lesser Titans who somehow managed to escape the Titan war and go into hiding. They landed on this island a few months ago and raised King Diomedes from whatever hell he came from. They said they did it in order to have him be there leader in a war against the gods."

"And he bought that load of bullshit? That Titans would just bow down before him?" I asked curiously and looked into the fire.

"You'd be surprised what kind of stupidity our great king would buy." Brasidas added bitterly and rolled his eyes. He chuckled and finished his tea. "Tell you what? Tomorrow when you set out we'll help you."

We didn't even realize that it started to snow outside. The innkeeper's daughter looked outside and frowned. "Winter is coming early this year."

The other patrons nodded and slowly started to trickle out of the inn. The innkeeper saw them off with a polite smile. "Many of the people here need to get home to their families, snowstorms sometimes come here when Storm Spirits pass by."

I nodded and took a drink out from my tea next and stared out at the door. Bits of hail and snow fell down against the window like bullets. The innkeeper cleaned out a room for us. Aqua and Mike quickly headed upstairs to the room. Soon enough it was only me, Ryan and Piper and a handful of other villagers. Ryan continued to stare outwards, chewing on his lips nervously.

The village elder looked around and noticed him sulking there. "Something on your mind young one?"

"My girlfriend is still out there." He replied and leaned in forward, almost pressing his face against the glass. "We got separated during the fight with Pallas. She stayed behind to keep him distracted."

He placed his hand on the Son of Hades shoulder. "Your girl is like you and your friends?"

Ryan nodded.

"Then she'll be fine, you people seem like tough nuts and a Daughter of Hermes no less. I'm sure she's on her way back here now, give her a bit more credit."

He seemed a bit more satisfied and nodded, he looked away from the window and got up. No sooner did he climb off the chair, did a guard come rushing in, he had a shield raised over his head and nearly stumbled inside. "Sir, we found someone outside the town. None of the guards recognized her."

Brasidas turned to us for any answers. Piper looked at the guard as one of workers in the innkeeper offered him some water. "Can you describe her?"

The guy quickly took a few sips and stumbled around when he spoke. "About your age, brown hair, dark skin."

Ryan quickly got to his feet and burst past the rest of us and ran out theinnm. We all trailed after him, our feet slipping against the wet ground as we made our way up to the ramparts. "Where is she?" Ryan shouted to one of the guards there. He grabbed his sleeve and shook him.

The man gasped and nearly fell over on his ass. He managed to point just beyond the wall. We squinted out and looked around the trees. Piper grabbed our shoulder and pointed at the treeline.

A girls prone form lay just outside the nearest one a few hundred feet away. Her body was limp and laid there, thankfully shielded from the hail due to the trees leaves. At least for now. "Katie!" Ryan shouted and jumped to his feet and before anyone realized what was happening, shadow traveled away.

He reappeared a foot away from her and bent down to check up on her. Ryan wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hoisted her to her feet before teleporting back to the ramparts.

I ran up to the guard tower where he was tending to Katie. "How is she doing?" Piper asked as she knelt down and placed a hand on her forehead. Her chest moved up and down unsteadily, that was the only indication that she was still alive. "She's ice cold."

I placed a hand on her arms and began to recite the hymn that I learned. Katie's breathing started to steady. We all sighed in relief as Ryan looked at me gratefully. "Thank gods, let's give her some rest guys." Brasidas suggested and placed a hand on our shoulders. He started to steer us out.

We all glanced at our friend one last time before leaving.


	14. Chapter 14

**Ryan's POV**

I gently rested my head against my arms as my mind began to drift off to sleep. I was just outside Katie's room. It's been two and a half hours past midnight. Maybe if I just rest my eyes for a few minutes, there's no harm in that.

No. My head suddenly snapped up and I quickly shook the drowsiness off me. Or at least tried to as the heaviness continued to linger. Katie could be badly injured, I need to be here for her now.

A hand was placed on my shoulder and I saw Piper frowning down at me. She had dark bags underneath her eyes, but she managed an exhausted smile. "Ryan, I doubt Katie would mind you taking a couple hours off to get some rest."

I simply stared back at her. "You first."

She unsheathed her dagger and looked back at her reflection. Piper placed a hand on her eyes and sighed. "Alright, I suppose we both need some rest."

Piper pointed at the rooms just down the hall which were cleared out for us by the villagers. I nodded reluctantly and started to walk down with her. Piper knocked on the door thrice before it creaks open. Sam steps out, rubbing his eyes with a bow slung over his shoulder.

"Are you taking the next watch?" Piper asked yawning softly.

"Ya," He notices me and nods reassuringly. "don't worry, I'll take good care of her."

Piper smiled and kissed him on the cheek. His face colored slightly, but he began to walk down to Katie's room. Despite my exhaustion, I managed a weak grin to Piper. "So when did the two of you become a thing?"

She flushed and glared at me. "Oh shut up Ryan." She quickly shut the door but opened it slightly a moment later. "I'll tell you in the morning."

I laughed and shook my head as I opened the door for my room. I barely even registered what was all around me before simply crashing onto the bed. It took me only about a few minutes to completely pass out.

It felt like I was only asleep for a couple minutes when Piper was suddenly shaking me viciously awake. "Ryan, Ryan get up!" She shouted and continued to shake me. I groan softly and rubbed my eyes.

"Katie is awake!" She insisted and nudged me again.

A jolt shot through my body as I shot upright and looked around, my eyes narrowing onto her as I threw the sheets off. "What? When?"

"A few minutes ago, the nurse told Sam and he told me," Piper explained as quickly as she could. "Let's go."

I didn't need to be told a second time as I quickly jogged with her down the hall. Thankfully I went to bed in the clothes I was wearing before so I didn't have to spend any time changing.

Brasidas was there as well, waiting for us with a couple of guards with him along with the rest of our guesstimates. He quickly opened the door and pushed it open. Before anyone else could even blink, I burst inside and looked at the bed.

Katie was sitting up on bed, almost casually as rubbed her eyes. The nurse was right beside her, waiting to check up on her at a moments notice. I froze suddenly as our eyes locked on with each other.

My body froze, seeing the icy blue eyes she had in the place of her brown ones.

"Hello there Ryan." She said casually, a smile slowly forming on her lips. It wasn't her usual Katie smile, but one that felt almost cold and distant. She waved a hand past the nurse and nodded. "I'm fine dear. You don't need to take care of me."

"What's with your eyes?" Mike asked bluntly and entered the room after us.

"Oh?" She asked and moved her hand to her eyes and rubbed them. Piper held up her dagger in front of her and let Katie see. "Oh that? I guess it's an effect by being attacked by a Storm Spirit?"

"What!" They all shouted suddenly and stared at her.

She nodded somberly as she eased back onto bed. "Well after I left to try and get out of the fight with Pallas, he unleashed some Storm Spirits after me to try and track you guys down. I managed to fight them off for a couple minutes but they eventually overwhelmed me and I got struck down."

Piper leaned down and hugged her. "Awww, poor thing."

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "How are you feeling Katie?" I asked and pulled her close to a hug as well.

"Thanks, guys." She said, and again there's something off with her voice. It contains only barely contained anger.

It was harsh enough to get me to back away in surprise. The others do the same as Katie casually rises to her feet. She glanced down and her clothes, and realized she was wearing one of the dresses that the innkeeper dug up for her.

To my surprise, she simply shrugged and walked past us. "Come on guys let's eat." She called back.

Brasidas looked at us and smiled. "So is your friend alright?"

"I'm honestly not really sure." I replied and started to follow him downstairs. Thankfully the innkeeper had always kept food on standby. So some grain and spice meat was placed out for us. Katie sat down and started to pick up a bowl of rice eating it delicately without a single hair out of place.

"Something is very wrong." I muttered silently to Piper who only nodded in agreement. I picked up a leg of meat and started to bite into it. The others soon sat around us and joined in eating the food.

Katie frowned. "Is there a problem guys? Something wrong with a little midnight snack?"

"No, nothings wrong," Aqua replied and said, her fingers tapping on the table. "It's just that you're acting a bit odd."

"Oh?" She raised her brow in mild confusion as she set her bowl down. Her new eyes flickered towards us dangerously. Her body tensed like she was ready to spring into action at any moment. "And what do you mean by that?"

Sam scratched the back of his head. "Well, you're acting all quiet and proper. It's a bit weird."

The others nodded silently in agreement. Mike cleared his throat and pointed at her dress. "And you don't seem to mind wearing that."

Katie glanced down at her outfit and frowned as if she couldn't spot a thing wrong with it. "And whats the problem with my dress."

"Katie what's your favorite season!" I blurted out suddenly and glared at her. The question sent the room to silence. Everyone looked at me except for Katie who took another bite from her bowl.

She then set it back down and wiped her lips delicately. When Katie finally turned, there was a coolness in her expression that almost felt mocking. A smile slowly started to tug upwards on her lips as she opened her mouth.

My heart started to thump in my chest my hand moved up to my spear and prepared to summon in.

"Winter."

I burst to my feet and whirled around, keeping my lance leveled onto her chest. Mike and Aqua were at Katie's side and grabbed each of her arms. Before she could even open her mouth they held her down.

Her cool expression instantly shattered. Suddenly her face morphed to one of pure terror. She opened her mouth and let out a terrified shriek. When Katie glanced up her eyes were wide and confused, almost like someone who didn't understand what was going on.

"Ryan!" She breathed out her voice breaking.

My arm strained as I lowered my weapon a fraction. A careful, cautious gesture to see how she reacted. She still looked as scared.

I glanced in Brasidas's direction. He was in a combat stance had his sword drawn out partially of its sheath. When he noticed my look, he gave me a determined nod. Whatever I did he was with me. "Do you have a priest here? Or some sort of magic wielder?"

He nodded and quickly vanished outside into the night.

"Ryan, please. Whats going on?" Katie sobbed.

Even though the sound of her voice like that wrenched my heart, I ignored her and looked at the door. A few minutes later, he was back with a man dressed in a white robe and a purple sash in tow. A priest perhaps.

"Whats going on?" He panted, taking a few heavy breaths as he wiped sweat from his brow.

"I think she might be possessed," I replied and pointed my spear at Katie.

The priest nodded and pushed his way past us. The guards were quick to make room for him to pass. "Set her down on the floor." He instructed to Aqua and Mike. They two nodded and hauled her off the chair as me, Sam and Piper started to clear the tables and chairs to make room for them.

Katie struggled against the bonds, gasping and groaning loudly as she fought to get free. "Let me go." She shouted and kicked. The priest ignored her and kneeled down in front of her.

He tapped her forehead with his finger and suddenly Katie her eyes rolled back to the back of her head and caused her to recoil back. I let out a small gasp in surprise as I saw this, but didn't move and forced myself to remain still.

He started to chant slowly, speaking of a some old greek hymn as he started to have his hands hover over her body, moving around until he tapped Katie's forehead again. Her eyes rolled back to their original position.

They were still icy blue.

The priest turned to us and shook his head. "I-I don't detect any sort of demon inside her." He replied and got to his feet. "What exactly happened to her?"

Quickly, I told him everything that happened. Even though it only took a few minutes, it still felt like it was far too long. After I finished, the priest simply nodded and seemed to understand. "Well perhaps she needs a bit of time to adjust."

I looked back at Katie, frowning as I nodded slowly. Katie would have done the same for me if that happened to me. "Alright then. I'll give her some time." I turned to Katie and hugged her tightly. "Do you think you can still finish the quest with us?"

Katie nodded. The priest smiled and patted me on my shoulder. "Excellent."

Brasidas got up and sighed with relief. "Well now that all of this business is settled, shall we get some rest? We should depart tomorrow with the supply caravan."

"That seems like a good idea." Mike agreed and yawned. "Now come on, it's getting late."

* * *

"What are you doing here?" The guard held up his hand to signal the wagons to stop and slammed his spear shaft against the dirt with his other hand.

Brasidas cleared his throat and stepped forward. He was at the front of the group, riding a simple chestnut plow horse. "We're just heading to the palace with our goods. Just some hay, oats, grain and milk."

Another guard stepped forward and grunted. He lowered his spear and hooked it under the tarp that covered the wagon and lifted it up. "Then you don't mind if we inspect these things?"

I tense and readied my own spear. These guys looked like they would do it regardless if there was anyone inside or not. He threw the tarp back and two more soldiers joined him. They leaped onto the wagon and began to knock things aside in their search, but after a few minutes, it was clear that there was no one there.

Piper glanced at my, still disguised in a dress given to her by one of the villagers. I nodded to her and the others in their own disguises. They repeated the same process with the other wagons and the man leaped back and pulled the tarp over, not even bothering to fix the stuff they knocked over.

"Alright, things seem to be in order." The soldier who started the search said. He waved his spear around. "Get going then."

Brasidas nodded quickly and started to order his team forward, the wagons started to move again and soldiers walked beside them. We continued down the dirt path that led towards the castle.

But as we approached the great rock that king Diomedes built his castle on top of, he suddenly signaled the convoy to come to a sudden stop. One of his guards nodded to him, a gesture which he returned. "This is our stop everyone."

"What do you mean?" Katie blinked in surprise as she glanced around at the empty road, looking for any guards. "There's nothing here?"

"Indeed." He smiled and started to walk off the road towards the dirt. "That what most people think, but a second look often changes everything. Come with us and follow."

I glanced at Katie and nodded reassuringly. She swallowed a breath and nodded softly. "Alright, let's do this then." With that, we started to move forward down the dirt as Brasidas and four men went ahead, the rest continued on with the wagons to finish the delivery.

Brasidas waved us forward, easily leaping from rock to rock as he looked at he rocky cliffs. He frowned and ran his hands across the place until he smiled. "Over here." He moved ahead and soon disappeared from sight.

We followed after him and found Brasidas crouching beside a small opening in between the walls. "Over here everyone." Without another word, he went inside followed by his guards. We soon started to descend down the hole, which actually seems more like a cave.

By the time we catch up with Brasidas, he had already lit a torch and was heading through the path. As we move in deeper, the walls become more smooth and like a wall instead. He glanced back at us and grinned. "This place was made as a secret entrance and exit to the castle, kings always like to have a place like this where they can sneak off to their more private activities, or to escape in the event of a coup."

Mike nodded, seeming to approve of that idea. He adjusts the rifle slung over his shoulder. We fall into step in a column. "This place looks so old." He said.

"Almost two thousand years." One of the guards said behind us. He glanced back and watched our flank. He spat on the ground as we walked by. "Diomedes used this place for all his sick games."

"Games?" Katie asked.

Brasiadas's face darkened under the torchlight. "He used to feed guests he invited into the palace to his flesh-eating horses, he made no difference between nobles, lowborn, local or foreigner. He kept them starved so that they would devour them mercilessly until That was until Hercules fed them his own body. After that they calmed down."

She nodded and continued to walk, before freezing suddenly. "Wait, I think I hear something."

Brasidas raised his hand in the air and signaled for the group to come to a stop. "What do you hear?"

Aside from the sound of water dripping from stalactites, I didn't hear anything. "Katie are you sure-"

"Shhh." She hissed and pressed her ear closer. Then I heard it, the scrapping of feet against rocks.

"Guards," Brrasidas confirmed, cursing silently to himself. "I didn't realize that Diomedes would still be patrolling these caves."

Katie pulled her sword out and grinned. "I'll handle this guy."

For a moment I saw a bit of the old Katie and smiled. "Go for it."

She nodded and jogged up the stone. She soon vanished into the rocks. After a few tense minutes I started to worry, Katie should have been back by know. I readied my spear and began considering going after her, but Brasidas simply smiled and held me back. "Don't worry too much about your lady. She looks like she can handle herself in a fight."

I grunted and crossed my arms unhappily. But I relaxed and kept my spear back, thankfully before long I heard footsteps beginning to head back towards us. I sighed with relief as I heard more than one pair of feet making our way back here.

Katie appeared back in sight with an odd smile on her face. She suddenly placed a hand on her forehead dramatically and pointed at us. "Guards they're over here! These are the people who tried to rape me." Suddenly a squad of guards rushed passed her with their weapons drawn and threw themselves at us.

Braisadas and his men shouted a battle cry and rushed to meet them. He had his sword out and parried a spear thrust aimed at him. He whirled around and brought his sword down at the spot between the helmet and breastplate that wasn't protected by his armor.

One of the men managed to fight his way through the other guards and ran up to me with his shield raised. met his spear with my own and reached for the rim of his shield. He growled and tried to ram me back. I caught the blow and brought my knee up to his chest. He stumbled to the ground enough for me to jab my spear into his back.

Mike rushed to Katie with his gun and bayonet ready. He stopped short of actually hitting her and instead just grabbed her hand and growled. "What in Hades are your doing Katie?"

The Daughter of Hermes moved like a Cheetah pouncing on her prey. She twisted free of his grip and whirled around before lancing a blow into his chest. As he doubled over, Katie threw her leg up into a vicious kick to his face.

"Oh you mortals are so predictable." She laughed in a sickly sweet voice and raised her hands. Her eyes gleamed dangerously as she raised her hands. Suddenly a flurry of ice shards came shooting out of her hands directly at her. I crouched down and began to weave a shield of shadows.

The ice disappeared into a darkness and didn't reappear again. She drew her sword and advanced at me. "We had a priest look at you. He said you were fine."

Katie took a step back and looked over the group. He spotted the priest in the back, cowering softly behind some of the guards. She simply waved her hand and an icy dagger flew out of his sleeve and impaled itself onto his chest. He dropped to the ground without another sound. "You mean that priest? I simply hid myself and showed you what you believed to see."

"Well, I want to see you out of my girlfriend's body," I growled and leveled my spear at her. The others did the same and prepared to attack, but Piper simply held her hand out.

Katie readied her sword and pointed it at her. "Stay out of this Daughter of Aphrodite. This is none of your business."

She smiled sweetly as she brushed some hair from her face. "Now, now. I don't even know what this business is. If you could be so kind as to tell me everything that is happening here."

She clenched her fist and started to advance. "Your Charmspeak will not work on my girl."

"Maybe not you, but Katie might be more willing."

The thing inside her laughed. "Do you truly wish to appeal to your friend inside her? She is lost now."

I tightened my spear and snarled. "Katie if you're in there then please five is a sign."

Her expression faltered for a second. "Ryan," Her voice was barely above a whisper. "there's something inside me." She stumbled to the ground and screamed, clutching herself. "It's too powerful, I don't think I can fight it for long."

She screamed and suddenly the cruel expression returned. "Please whoever you are, we mean you know harm. Why did you posses our friend?"

"Foolish girl!" She shrieked. "Do you not recognize me? The power I emanate?"

A gust of cold wind was blown at her direction, nearly knocking her and the guards over. Sam cried out and loosed an arrow straight at Katie. To his surprise she simply caught it in midair and clenched her fist, snapping the arrow in half.

"Khione?" Piper gasped, wiping her lips and getting to her feet.

The ice queen smirked and nodded her head. She spread her arms out and an icy dagger appeared on her free hand. Suddenly, she charged at us with her weapons in hand.

Some of Brasidas men were the first to meet her. They raised their weapons and shields to meet her. Khione moved like a whirlwind and easily parried their attacks before reaching out and grabbing one of their shields. First started to spread from the rim towards the base, the soldier screamed in surprise as he let go of it before it shattered into ice shards.

She moved her hand up and drove the knife into his heart, easily ripping through his armor and into his heart. Her sword swung around and lashed out, cutting through the other man's neck.

"Get back!" Brasidas shouted and waved his sword.

It was too late as the ice queen charged forward and came at the rest of us. Mike managed to parry with his bayonet while another soldier raised his shield up and drove his spear at her feet, forcing Khione to do pivot back.

I jabbed my spear at her armpit. It forced her to parry but it was all I needed. Aqua wrapped her whip around her arm. She tugged it hard and forced her to drop her sword. Sam swung her short sword and tried to smack the pommel at her hand.

Khione grinned and easily parried it, but Mike smacked her over the head with the stock of her rifle. He wrapped his arms around hers and held her down. Piper closed her eyes and focused on her. Khione screamed and thrashed around, but Mike easily have twenty pounds in her.

Piper smiled and touched her shoulders. "Come on now, let's be rational and discuss this. Katie please, don't fight it."

Katie slowly started to calm down and relaxed onto the ground. "Alright then."

Suddenly she started to struggle once again. She screamed in anger as she blew ice at them. Piper easily blocked it with a shield and smiled. "Come on Katie, you're much stronger than that ice bitch, fight her."

Two voice warred in her throat, changing back and forth like chancing two radio station. They screamed and roared, causing everyone else to back away nervously. I leaned in closet and tried to grab her. "Please Katie, don't let her take over!"

I stared into her eyes, the icy blue one that glared back carefully at me. A bit of brown starred to return from the corner and moved further to begin overcoming the rest of it. Katie screamed once again, her voice desperate but fully hers. One more explosion of ice escaped her throat before she slumped against the ground and passed out.

I quickly caught her before she hit the ground and ran the finger across her cheek as I cradled her body. Piper and Sam were at my side and leaning down next to her, Sam started to chant a healing song.

"It's her." Piper sighed with relief as she slumped down. "Khione is gone now."


	15. Chapter 15

**Sam's POV**

Slowly the cavern started to change as we advanced deeper into the rock. From uneven and cracked rock walls, it gave way to carefully laid out stone brick walls with torches hanging from the wall.

I kept an arrow notched on my bow as I glanced back at our rear. Brasidas and his remaining men led from the front while the rest of us walked in the middle. Only Ryan lingered behind he remained behind Piper who let Katie's unconscious body lean on her. Each step he took was determined and focused, like a careful watchdog who refused to leave their side. The two were discussing something in private.

I relaxed my bow arm and slung the weapon over my shoulder as I approached them.

"Come on Ryan, Katie's fine. You don't need to watch her every minute of every day." Piper chided as she rolled her shoulders and adjusted the distribution of weight on her.

"I'm not doing that." He insisted and shook his head. "I'm only doing this until she wakes up."

"We don't know when that will happen." I pointe out.

That appears to have been the wrong thing to say as he glares at me. "And your our group's healer, shouldn't know that be your job?"

I was surprised at the anger in his voice. Before I could say anything in reply, Piper grasped his arm and frowned. "Ryan." Her voice sounded gentle, but with a hard steel under her voice. "There's no need for that now."

He glanced back and forth at the two of us before sighing. "Your right. I'm sorry guys."

Reluctantly, I, nod in acceptance. "Why don't you join the patrol in front. Katie won't be going anywhere." I said firmly.

He still didn't seem convinced, I frowned. "If you waste all your energy fussing over her, then you won't have the energy to respond to when a threat comes out," I added. Piper only shrugged and gave a small nod.

Eventually, Ryan grunted in agreement and walked ahead of them to join Brasidas as he and his soldiers started to head forward, leaving only Piper and me to walk alone in awkward silence.

"So…." I if ally says to break the ice. I look up at the ceiling if it will give me the answers to what to say and then look around and spot Katie's limp body. "Ryan seems to care a lot about Katie."

Piper looked at me in exasperation. "Well, she is his boyfriend."

"You know what I mean." I shake my head and keep my gaze down on her.

"I know," She gave me a small smile as she stopped and checked on her again. I started to sing another quick hymn on her just to be safe. By the time I finish my forehead was drenched in sweat. Piper frowned when she saw this. "You might wanna lay off on the healing for a while."

"But to answer your question. Ever heard of the saying love redeems the bad-boy?"

"Ya, that whole thing about someone some girl can see beyond the guys cold and unfeeling personally and bring out the better side of him." My eyes winded as I slowly started to get at what she was saying. "Are you saying that Ryan and Katie got together because of her sweet and understanding nature?"

Piper cocked her head in confusion when she heard this. "What? No of course not. She's wild, crazy, and is stubborn as a mule." the others started to chuckle amongst themselves, even Ryan glanced back and didn't bother to correct us.

"So what's your point?"

She smiled. "While Katie may not be that, she does love him and she's the only girl, who was never fazed with Ryan's cold attitude. It never stopped her from messing with him, making jokes or talking to him. That's what happened."

I glance a Ryan who simply shrugged in response. "I could yell, threaten and ignore her all I want and she wouldn't even blink. She never asked me to change or force me into anything, she just accepted me and called me out when I did something wrong. It felt nice to not be afraid of for a change."

Piper smiled warmly at hearing that and continued to go on. As we moved down the hall, the wall began to spread out as we entered a new chamber, unfortunately, this one also didn't have any torches so we were left only with the few torches that we still did have.

Brasidas raised his arm to signal for the group to stop. "Let's rest here for the moment," He said as he peered outwards. "We'll get going in a couple minutes."

He sent his soldiers around to scout the rest of the room while I removed Katie's hoodie and laid it out on the floor. Piper placed Katie on top before sitting down.

"So?" Ryan said suddenly as he was sitting cross-legged just a couple feet away and leaning against the wall. He had an odd look on his face, a smile that seemed more at home with his girlfriend. "What about your love life guys?"

Piper gasped in surprise and I whittled towards him with my face bright red. Ryan burst out laughing and smirked at us. Even Aqua and Mike were now heading in our direction with pleased expressions on his face.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Piper asked and tried to hide her flustered expression.

This only caused them to laugh some more as they formed a circle. "Come on guys don't try and hide it, we all see how close the two of you are." Aqua teased and tapped the Daughter of Aphrodite on her nose.

The two of us exchanged looks with each other, her kaleidoscopic eyes unsure, but slowly she nods. I do the same and I sigh in defeat. "Alright then, what do you guys want to know?"

"Well first of, how long has this been going on between the two of you?" Mike asked.

"Since around the time of escaping Sostratos and his pirates," Piper replied and stared at him as if to say. _Satisfied?_

Aqua squealed and oohed happily when she heard this. Her clenched fists were over her mouth. "Well, what do you see in Sam?" She turned to him with a blush. "I mean don't get me wrong, your a great guy but you're still the first guy you went out with since Jason." She pursed her lips at the mention of his name.

But surprisingly, Piper simply waved her hand to dismiss her friend's concerns. "Well, I suppose he is. Well, Sam isn't someone who cares only about his duty and looks after his friends first and foremost instead of just completing the mission."

Ryan nodded grimly, a cold smile on his face. "Remind me to kick Jason's ass the next time we see him."

Piper chuckled. "Oh please like you could kick his ass. He's still a Son of Zeus Ryan, though that doesn't mean that I don't wanna see you try."

"Well, Sam," Mike said, turning his attention towards me as he slumped up against the wall and rested his hands behind his head. "What do you like about Piper?"

"Well, she's amazing." I smiled and stared at her, holding her hand. "Beautiful, smart braze and one hell of a fighter."

The rest of them smiled and nodded, listening happily to us just as one of the soldiers spoke up. "I found something." He declared.

Brasidas stood up and looked at the direction of the voice. "There are some sconces here for our torches." A torch was lit to reveal one a part of the rooms. They quickly started to move around and lit the other torches.

Suddenly everyone's eyes widen as we catch a glimpse of the room. Piper gasped and placed her hand on her mouth as they caught sight of the skeletons unceremoniously thrown all over the sides of the room.

There were dozens of them at least, all already bleached white and looking ready to fall apart with age. We all glanced around and Brasidas clenched his fist. "I thought I recognized this place before." We all turned to him slowly. "These are the remains of those who King Diomedes fed to his horses."

"There are so many of them." Ryan breathed and closed his eyes. He placed his hands on the ground and scowled. "I still feel their spirits lingering, begging to get out."

"So shouldn't we be leaving then if this place is full of restless spirits?" One of the guards pointed out nervously as he clenched his spear tightly and glanced at the skeleton.

Ryan simply shook his head. "No, they seek no quarrel with you of your men. They are only calling out for Diomedes and those who brought them back."

"Brought them back?" Brasidas slowly just approached one skeleton and relaxed his sword arm, letting the blade drift back into its sheath. He examined the empty pits staring right into his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

The Son of Hades glanced at the ceiling, his old scowl returning to his face as he kept one hand touching the floor. "The ones who ripped them from their rest in the Underworld when they brought back the palace."

"So we'll be safe here?" Mike asked and started to check if his rifle was loaded.

"From the Spirits, yes, but if more of the king's soldiers attack then I'm not so sure."

"But you said that these spirits don't like them. Maybe they can help us if they try something." I pointed out, trying to sound optimistic.

Ryan's only reply was distant. "Maybe."

There was a soft groan behind us. "Well, it sounds like I chose a bad time to wake up."

We all turned around to see Katie slowly sitting up, rubbing the side of her head. Her eyes were shut but when she opened them they were her old brown instead of the ice blue ones she had before. Ryan ran over to her and nearly threw his hands around her but hesitated.

Katie frowned and looked at him in confusion. She didn't say anything as Ryan grabbed her shoulders and squeezed them hard enough to cause the girl to wince. Her face was hard as stone when he looked at her. "What's your favorite season?"

"Summer."

His expression instantly softened as he hugged her tightly, burying his face in her hair. "It's great to have you back Katie."

Still frowning, Katie continued to hug him back and nuzzled him softly. Eventually, it got too awkward for her and she gently pulled away. She looked at all of us in confusion. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"You might want to sit down for this Katie," Ryan said, suddenly serious once again as he started to explain everything once again, not leaving out any details as he told her being possessed. When he finally finished, her face was deathly pale as she buried her head in his arms.

"Oh, my gods." She said quietly, her voice breaking. "I'm so sorry."

Piper grabbed her friend and shook her head. "Hey there." She pushed Katie's chin up until she was facing her once again. "It's not your fault."

"Easy for you to say, you weren't the one who was turned into some snow queens little plaything, or shot an ice shard into another person's chest."

Ryan stroked his girlfriends back and squeezed her back. "Katie you know that you weren't in control of your actions. It was Khione who did all of those things."

I smile and place a hand on her shoulder. She looks up at me longingly, almost begging me to say something comforting. "Katie we've been friends for a long time now. I know you would never do something like this to anyone."

She nodded slowly, she still didn't look fully convinced though. Her gaze fell on the countless skeletons surrounding us. "Woah, what happened here? Has Ryan been busy?"

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "No, nothing like that. We're just sneaking around under a castle to attack the Titans. This is where Diomedes left the remains of those people he fed to his horses."

Katie let out a long whistle as she looked around. "There are so many of them." She breathed out softly and frowned. "How could he have done this to all his people?"

Brasidas snarled. "Men like him care nothing of their people or their duties. All he cares about is his own personal enjoyment and pleasure." He slowly begins to calm down and sighs. "You better get some rest, we'll make camp here for the night and continue on with our quest tomorrow."

We nodded and suddenly started to break out camp, Katie and I start to pitch tents while Ryan starts a fire and the others set up the other supplies. Mike took out the cooking supplies and started to begin cooking some canned beans and ground beef while Aqua had some cheese and Taco shells. The two of them started to cook the food together and make tacos for us.

As they got about cooking, I moved to the side and set my pack down. I pulled out the collapsible tent inside and started to set it up, thankfully the ground her was still earthy and soft enough for me to plant the stakes in with a mallet. When I turned around I saw Piper had already started setting up the tent poles. She smiled when she saw me. "Sorry, I thought you might want some help."

I smiled back at her and nodded. "Thanks." I watched her work for a while. Her hands moved deftly around the poles and then the string to tie on the stakes, she worked without barely missing a beat. "You're really good at that."

"I and my dad used to go out camping whenever he had the time." She replied, not looking up at the string she was tying. "It was his way of bonding with me and to make up for the time he lost with work."

I kneeled down to the same with the other side. "That's nice. I always wanted to go camping when I was younger, but apparently, the orphanage doesn't appreciate their kids running off into the forest and living there."

Piper laughed. "So this is your first time camping?"

I nodded.

In response, she spread her arms around broadly to gesture around the room. "Then how are you feeling about your first time in the great outdoors?"

I chuckled. "It's nice, save for all the attempted stabbings."

"Well, it's not real camping till someone gets stabbed." Piper did her best to imitate her father's voice when she said that.

"I can attest to that." Mike passed by our tent and poked his head in and looked at us. "Also dinners gonna be ready in a few minutes lovebirds."

We nodded as the two of us finished setting up the tent and placed our sleeping bags inside. After that, we headed to the campfire where everyone gathered around. Aqua smiled and handed each of us a taco which we ate in silence. Dinner was low key as no one was really in the mood to talk, the only sound was one of the soldiers muttering to himself about how good the food was.

Occasionally someone would try to get the conversation rolling with a joke or a funny story, but it quickly died down. One by one we started to disappear into the tents and head to bed. "Mind bunking with me?"

"Sure why not?" She smiled and followed me to the tent.

The two of us head back inside. Piper kicked off her boots and curled up into the covers with a smile. She looked at me for awhile as I climbed in my own sleeping bag. "So those things you said about me earlier. Did you mean them?"

I looked at her oddly. "Ya. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "No one's really ever talked about me like that before."

"Well, that's not right," I said and leaned in closer to kiss her. "You're amazing."

Piper blinked in surprise, she could hardly say a thing when she heard this. Her eyes gleamed as she nodded slowly and hugged me.


	16. Chapter 16

**Ryan's POV**

"Ryan, get back!" Brasidas warned as Perses snapped his arm forward, while Aqua's whip was wrapped around his arm. She screamed as she was thrown aside and released grip of her weapon. Perses raised his hand towards me and suddenly, earthen spikes shot up from the ground and started to move to my direction.

I did a flip forward, towards one of the spikes and pushed myself against it, flying to the side as the stakes stopped at the wall. Perses growled in frustration as he readied his sword and shield. Mike ran past him, firing his rifle though they all bounded off of his shield.

"Do you really believe that you can stop a Titan?" He demanded and advanced forward. With each step he took, the ground started to shake and tremble before him. His eyes flashed dangerously and I raised my spear over my head.

I stepped forward and hurled my spear directly at him. The Titan simply raised his shield and knocked them aside. I drew my dagger and the Titan laughed. "And what will you do with that little thing?"

Taking a step back into the shadows of one of the pillars, I closed my eyes and felt my body begin to melt into the shadows, becoming lighter and less solid as I appeared behind him.

"He's on your left side." Piper gasped as she rose to her feet. Perses swiveled his head as my sword came down onto his right shoulder.

He hissed in pain as the sword dug into his shoulder. The Titan whirled around as he swung his sword around at me with inhuman speed. He would have gutted me a dozens times over if it wasn't for Piper. She continued her strategy of using her Charmspeak to give wrong directions for him to attack.

It took Perses a chance to catch on to what was happening. He closed his eyes and the eathen stakes shoot up and slammed into the ceiling. Bits of rubble started to tumbled on her. It it wasn't for Aqua who cracked her whip at Pipers legs and dragged her away just as the rubble came crashing down.

Aqua helped her to her feet and the two of them charged at him. Mike moved on the other side, swinging his sword low while I tried to jab my dagger into his back. But this time Perses was prepared and the ground started to shake, sending us all to the ground as he swings his spear in a wide arc that would have gutted us all if the rest of us didn't step back.

Brasidas finished off the last of the guards and turned to the Titan, swinging his sword around to met him. The two of them exchanged blades and started to move back and forth, trying to regain the upper hand from the other. For a moment it seemed like the village elder was gaining the upper hand, forcing the bigger warrior back with expert blows and shear strength.

As Perses stumbled to the one knee, Brasidas took this opportunity to jerk his knee up at his face. The Titan flew back against the throne and the former soldier leveled his sword as his chest to prepare the final strike.

Suddenly, Perses glanced up, fire in his eyes as the ground started to shake again, infinitely stronger than before. Underneath our feet the tiles cracked and broke apart. They seemed to be sinking into the earth. As they did smoke started to rise along with the unmistakable scent of fire. "Get to higher ground." I shouted as bits of magma started to appear.

The fire pool started to form in the middle of the room, the rest of us scrambled back as I reached the elevated dias which the throne was built on with Brasidas. Perses casually walked over it as if it was nothing, he raises his arms slowly and suddenly the flow starts to increases drastically.

The stones started to glow brightly as lava burned past them. The others starts start to climb on whatever we can, trunks, chests of gold and even the columns. "Guys it's no use, get out of here!" I warned.

Piper stopped and looked at me. "What about you guys?"

"We'll be fine." I assured her as she hesitated in leaving. She looked up at us and seemed ready to do something stupid like go after us. "Now get the heck out of here."

Reluctantly, she slowly started to place one foot over the offer and started to jpg out of there with the others. Perses stood in the middle of the inferno, laughing madly as he raised his hands and the maelstrom of fire circled around him. He pointed his sword in our directions and a pillar of fire shut up and arcs in our direction.

The two of us rolled aside from the flames. The hairs on the back of my head stood up as it felt the heat just above my head. I landed hard on the ground and felt pain shoot up on my body, but I couldn't dwell on it as I instantly rolled to my side as the lava started to flow to my side.

To my side I heard Brasidas scream as his tunic caught fire and he quickly started to try bathing it out. He looked up at me, his eyes wide as he retrieved his sword and dodged the incoming flames that Perses threw at us. I did the same and we met behind the smoldering ruins of the throne.

"I have an idea," I said quietly and managed a wicked grin. Brasidas glanced up in surprise as I grabbed him by the shoulders. "try not to move and don't scream or panic. The last thing I need is for your flesh to fly off your bones."

"Wait what-" Before he could finish I shut my eyes and willed the shadows all over me. Our bodies melted away and shot through the air, walls and anything that was in our way. Our bodies started to stop and hold above a point before beginning to reform back in our solid forms.

We were in one of the nearby wings that was untouched by the fighting. The soldier fell to one knee and gasped for air, keeping one hand on his chest. "What in the Underworld was that?"

I glanced at him and wiped sweat from my forehead and grinned. "it's called Shadow Travelling its how Children of Hades get around."

"I hate it." He gagged suddenly and started to throw up. Brasidas quickly spat out his breakfast and wiped his lips.

He barely managed to get to his feet when the castle started to rumble once again. I nodded and patted his back before beginning to run. "That can't sound good."

"That doesn't look good." Brasidas breathed softly, his breath ragged as he pointed to the side of the castle and the walls started to tremble, pictures and other decorations toppling down. The fire seeped through the gap in the wooden door as the bottoms caught fire.

"Let's go." The two of us quickly started to jog in the other direction. I don't particularly care we're going anymore as long as it's away from the lava and Perses. Brasidas however seems to know the way and repeatedly pulls me away when I make a wrong turn.

We soon reach the end of the wing and the stairway to the entrance was just beyond. However as we turn there, a quartet of guards suddenly appear in front of us with their spears crossed.

They prepare to block our way but the next tremor causes them to hesitate. "Do you guys really wanna stay here while the castle us collapsing all around us?"

The men hesitate for a moment, before turning around and running away in separate directions. Brasidas pointed at the main entrance and started to guide me there.

Before we reached the entrance, the door frame started to groan under the pressure. I pulled the village elder back as the whole structure caved in a moment later. "You better do better than that little Demigods."

I cursed and we started to move to the side under Brasidas directed me. "There is a servants entrance in the side. If we head there then we can find a way out."

My mind is only halfway there as the other part is wondering about the rest of my friends. Katie, Piper, Mike and everyone else. Even as I tried to focus, the thought kept pushing itself back into my mind.

The kitchen was empty by the time we reached it, the food that was being prepared was left knocked over and scattered around while the ovens and water was left running. It looks like the kitchen staff also felt the vibrations and left in a hurry. We quickly move past the kitchen to the side entrance. We were surprised to see Brasidas's wagon and the rest of his men still there.

One of the guards saluted and held up his spear in a salute. And even better was that the rest of our group was sitting in the wagon and waiting for us. "Get in, get in everyone." The man said and quickly got onto his horse while the driver started to guide us out.

The horses nickered and whinnied, quickly galloping down the road. We glanced back as the stone walls started to glow once again and there was an explosion on the other side of the castle. We couldn't exactly see it, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. Cobbles and stones flew everywhere.

"Where are the rest of your men?" One of the guards asked as he trotted beside us. He kept his spear ready and leaned towards Brasidas.

"Gone." He replied bitterly.

He glanced at us in the wagon and seemed to count us mentally. "And what about the rest of those Demigods."

It came crashing down like a pile of bricks. A wave of guilt washed over me as I realized that I forgot about them. I swallowed a bitter taste in my mouth as I felt it building in my lips. "I don't know."

"One more thing." He said slowly and raised his spear, pointing it to our right where Perses came advancing in our direction. Except this time he was over thirty feet tall now, his entire body was covered in Greek battle armor made of solidified lava. With each step he took the ground shook and shockwaves started to form. "What in Hades is that?"

He opened his mouth and unleashed an ululating roar from his throat, fiery lava spat fro, his body as he raised his sword.

"That's a fucking Titan!" Brasidas roared as he started to advance. We had a good lead on Perses, but he quickly started to close the distance and swung his sword in a wide arc in our direction. The ground cracked in front of us, sending rock splinters flying in our direction. The lead cavalry men gasped and pulled their horses back as it happened.

One of them whirled his mount around and started to charge towards Perses. He raised his spear over his head and jabbed it at the Titans ankle. It barely even caused him to flinch as he picked up the soldier and swallowed him whole. The rider less horse galloped away.

"What do we do?" Another other one of the guards roared as he swung the sword again and the ground trembled, leaving deep gashes too badly mauled to let us pass. I took out my spear and nodded to him.

"It looks like we only have one choice." With that I summoned my shadows around me and started to shape them into lances before launching them at him. They embedded themselves into his hand like splinters which caused him to hiss in pain. As he took them out, the others charged forward.

Mike leaped down and took cover behind the cart, sniping at the Titan. Piper spoke softly in a soothing voice as she tried to convince him that it was a great idea to not destroy the road. Aqua pulled out her whip and started to lash it at his armor, chipping the hardened away. Brasidas mounted on a horse and started to lead his remaining men into a cavalry charge.

I closed my eyes and started to summon another wave of shadows, creating a massive tentacle that restrained his arm. Perses roared and cut it easily with his sword before slamming it into the fort. "I shall have my vengeance for my uncles death!" He proclaimed and sent powerful gales of wind blowing towards us.

I felt my jacket snapping against me. I took cover behind the wagon and started to close my eyes and gripped my lance. Suddenly the earth's presence was in my mind, screaming into my head. It rocked and shook around wildly. The earth shuddered in protest against me, but I willed it to obey me.

Through sheer will power, it's voice started to soften before me. Cracks in the wall it built up started to form and when I risked a glance up from the wagon I saw a small series of fissures forming between Perses's feet. He glanced down and blinked once in surprise.

He simply lifted his leg and moved it out of the way. Looking around the field, the two of us eventually locked eyes. The Titan let out a snort of laughter. "Did you honestly think that would work little demigod? That was the oldest trick in the book."

I smirked back at him, much to his confusion. "Guess again."

He looked back down at the ground as several dozen skeleton warriors started to claw their way out. They wore a variety of outfits, Roman Legionaries, Medieval crossbow men, British redcoats and Iraq War soldiers. They raised their weapons and started to open fire at his legs and waist, moving away from the descending spear of the Titan.

"Now's our chance." I said and the winds started to weaken slightly as Perses turned his attention to try and pick off the skeletons. Mike nodded and the two of us sprinted across the field. The Titan didn't see us coming until the Son of Ares leaped onto his foot and jabbed his bayonet in the area that Aqua had exposed with her whip.

He roared in pain as I leaped at his leg. Before he could fully understand what's happening, I was already in his waist and started to jab my weapon wherever I could while scrambling up.

I barely managed to dodge his hand as it came down swatting at his back. I grabbed onto his belt and swung the other direction as he swung his hand again. He stiffened at the sting of the blow and I moved up again, gripping his shirt as I dragged myself up to his waist.

It was a bit easier as he bent down and started finishing off the last of his skeleton warriors. He slowly started to rise again, but by this time I was already on his neck and prepared to drive my spear into his neck when his fingers suddenly wrapped around me and pulled me away.

He pulled me to his face and smirked. "Nice try."

As the Titan spoke I felt his horrible breath brush up against my face. It reeked of onions and pickles. I nearly gagged from the smell. Still Perses winced as the rest of my friends continued to attack him, bullets bouncing against his cheeks and neck while the girls continued pound away at him.

as he carelessly threw me over his shoulder.

The air whooshed out of me as I let out an ear-splitting scream ripped free from my throat. My heart leaped into my throat and probably would have flew out of my mouth.

Suddenly a pair of hands wrapped around me and my falls stopped. My body slumped against another body behind me. When I glance up I saw Katie's face smirking down at me. She adjusted her hands around my waist and pulled me to a hug. "Did you miss us?"

In the distance I saw a horse galloping down with Sam riding on it. He had a bow and arrow out before launching it at the back of his knee. The other horsemen rallied and started to gallop around his legs jabbing their spears up and forcing to his knees. Katie carried me higher in the air.

"I did." I started to grin back at her as I readied my lance which I nearly dropped it twice before steadying my weapon. I angled it downwards and aimed it right at the nape of his neck. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

She glanced down and winked at me. Slowly, she loosened her grip on me and I closed my eyes as I fell from the sky, keeping my spear gripped onto my spear. Everything shook as I felt the sudden drag of my spear sinking home into its target. It wasn't quite straight and was at an angle instead.

I stayed that way for only a moment as I started to slip, the spear dragging down across his back. Perses threw his head back and howled in pain, feeling the bloody gash open in his back as I pulled it down.

Eventually, the spear was pulled free from the flesh and I tucked and rolled onto the ground, glancing back as I saw my handiwork. The red line I left went from the nape of his neck down to the small of his back, a nasty and jagged thing that left the Titan trembling with his back arched before falling forward to a loud crash.

Sam quickly galloped up to me and offered his hand. I quickly got on and started to get on and the two of us moved away from the fallen giant. The rest of our friends were there as well and started to move up to us.

"Is he dead?" Piper asked softly as he looked at his prone form. Katie dropped down to the ground and shrugged.

Brasidas screamed as he pushed himself from one of the giants motionless fingers. He rubbed his injured arm as he looked at the fallen monster. "I very much doubt it, but that was one heck of a beating you gave it." He nodded at me in approval.

Piper and Aqua moved towards his face and the latter opened his eyelids while the former smiled and started to say a soothing lullaby. I glanced down at the Titan and sighed with relief as he didn't seem to show any signs of moving. "Then I think we better get the hell out of here."

* * *

"A toast for this great victory!" A man raised his glass up in the air amidst the sounds of all the music and dancing. At the table in front of him was a dented plumed helmet of a soldier. He was replied with the sound of a chorus of happy cheers from the rest of the people in the inn who raised their glasses in turn as well.

I smiled and was too busy dancing with Katie to do the same. I spun her around before catching her at the back. She giggled happily as she not too gracefully spun around before dipping at my arms.

Sam and Piper, and Aqua and Mike were doing the same. Since we arrived, we were given a heroes welcome from the villagers who happily brought out fresh food and drinks. Everyone was in great spirits since the defeat of Perses earlier and Brasidas declared this to be a night of celebration, something which everyone was happy to oblige.

As I caught my girlfriend again, the two of us sat down and giggled. The bartender looked at the two of us and poured each of us a drink. "Drink up you heroes." He said and held up the bottle. "It's our best vintage we have here."

I raised my hand up and shook my head politely. "That's quite alright, but I'm not much of a drinker."

Katie for her part happily drank it and rubbed her forehead. She held her mug out and shook it for a refill. The barkeep smiled and poured another drink. As Katie pulled it to her lips, I gently pushed it down and shook my head. "You might want to slow down with those."

"Oh lighten up Ryan. I'm fine, just let us have some fun, we won after all." She said and started to dance around, spilling her drink everywhere. I signed and returned to my drink, taking small sips. At the very least most of it ends up on the floor.

Still even as the party goes on, I can't help but be a little concerned about the Titan. He was beaten well enough, but he didn't disintegrate or anything. He's still just out there and could get up at any moment.

Sam eventually broke away with his dance with Piper. He laughed and continued to dance towards the bar and sat beside me. He ordered a drink from the bartender and frowned, noticing me sitting there and tapped my shoulder. "Hey is something wrong Ryan?"

I glanced down at him. "Well something feels wrong, like we shouldn't be celebrating yet. That Titan is still out there. Shouldn't we do something about it while we're here?"

He simply shrugged and sipped his drink softly. He set his drink down after and patted me on the shoulder. "Well who says we won't do anything. Brasidas seems like a smart guy, he won't just leave the Titans body there alone. I'm sure the next day he'll do something."

As if to prove his point, Sam raised his glass and gestured for Brasidas to come forward. He was sitting in the center table with some of his men. He looked up from us and nodded, excusing himself from his men and started to make his way towards us, a smile on his face. "Hello there children. What do you need?"

"We were just wondering what you plan to do with the Titans body?" Sam asked and gestured for him to sit.

His frown quickly disappeared as he politely declined the newest drink the barkeep offered. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. "I'm honestly not sure really. Nothing like this has ever happened before."

"Well, I suggest you get rid of the body." I pointed out. "That Titan invites nothing but trouble, you must understand that."

"I do." He nodded. "I plan to have some men to look over it tomorrow, if we can that is. You kids are free to help if you want."

"We'd be glad to help in whatever you need. It would be for the best if his body was disposed of quickly." Ryan agreed.

The smiled returned to the Village elders face as he relaxed and took the drink now. "Then it's agreed then. Tomorrow you will join us to dispose of the body." With that, he started to get up and headed back to his table.

Once he was gone, Sam relaxed and placed a hand on my shoulder. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now we can relax."

I looked at the party and sighed softly, easing myself back as well. "Ya I suppose."


	17. Chapter 17

Sam's POV

"There I think I see it." I cried and shielded my eyes with my hand from the light of noon. With my other hand I pointed at the fallen form of the Titan. It wasn't particularly hard to miss, even dead it still retained its great size. The rest of my group spurred their mounts to a faster gallop as they sped towards it.

Mike lingered for a little bit. He straightened and placed one hand on his rifles sling. He stared at the corpse for a long moment, examining it with an appraising look before joining the others and started to gallop forward. I joined them and started to break off with a small group that started to move around the body.

Perses definitely remained where he was, and he showed no signs of waking since we last arrived, still its weird that he hasn't also shown any signs of vanishing. There was no golden ichor leaking out of him, no parts dissolving into dust. He was just there.

"That definitely wasn't there the last time we were here." Piper noted and pointed at something underneath the Titans armpit. I peered there and spotted what she was looking at; the patch of grass around it was dead and blackened, quickly withering into nothing like the area was in fast forward. "What do you thing Aqua?"

The Naiad didn't like what she was seeing and pressed her lips together into a thin line. She pulled her horse around to a stop and quickly slid off. Mike called the group to a stop when he saw this and moved to join her. The soldiers who accompanied us dismounted as well and lingered around as they made a loose ring around us.

None of them seemed particularly active and seemed to move more to shake off the sleepiness rather than anything else. I couldn't really blame them though, our party had left in the morning and rode well into noon.

Aqua bent down and inspected the grass before placing her hand on the dying grass. Her skin briefly changed from its normal color to an almost transparent blue. I saw the watery veins inside her darken briefly as she stumbled back. As soon as her hand left from the grass she changed back to normal. Two of the soldiers closest to her quickly caught her and helped her back to her feet. "What happened?" Mike asked and ran up to her.

"Poison." She gasped and panted. "From his body."

Mike looked at the corpse in disgust. He raised his bayonet and jabbed it into Perses forearm. The blade easily punctured the flesh and purple liquid as thick as goo started to leak out. Those closest to it quickly backed away as the grass it hit started to steam and die.

"How could that be?" I asked.

"He is the Titan of destruction." Piper noted and quickly stepped back as the tip of her shoe started to steam when the poison touched it. "I suppose it would make sense that even his body would destroy things,"

"It's disgusting." Aqua said and watched the puddle slow down in its growth with obvious relief on her face. "So how will we get rid of his body now? I doubt we can get rid of it without causing some serious damage."

"We could always try cutting up his body to pieces, like what they did to Cronos before." I suggested and noticed the soldiers continuing to back away. Jumpy it seems.

Mike seemed to be considering this as he kicked the fleshy arm thoughtfully. "That could work, but its pretty big, and there's still the whole poison."

Piper was now standing on one of the jagged rocks that sprouted up from the fight yesterday and she had a couple pebbles in her hands. "Well we could try bleeding him out slowly, like systematically get rid of the blood." With each sentence she threw a pebble at the puddle. It still hadn't stopped fully.

"How will we collect it all if we could even do that." Mike countered and started to climb on the body, careful to avoid the puddles as he balanced on his chest.

One of the soldiers cried out and backed away. "It's not slowing down." He interrupted our discussion and called out to the rest of us. The man pointed his spear at the puddle and it still continued to expand, albeit a bit slower than before.

"That can't be good." I said and drew my bow. I notched it at the Titans unblinking eye. It was obviously the problem, maybe the Titan was still alive. Before I could loose, Aqua shook her head and raised her arms.

"That might not be the best idea." She warmed and managed to steady herself without the assistance of the guards. She looked at the puddle from a bit farther. "Something is clearly wrong here and the last we should do is disrupt the ecosystem."

The others reluctantly nodded and I leaped off. No sooner did I hit the ground did it start to rumble loudly. Tiny pebbles around me started to shake as Mike glared at me. "What did you do?" He demanded.

"I didn't do anything." I insisted as I heard a loud crack behind me. I whirled around towards the Titan.

From its fingers that touched the ground, they started to vibrate and tap against the earth. Fissures started to form. We all drew our weapons and took aim at Perses body I prepared to hit his eye once again. "I knew it, he's still alive!" I shouted and backed away a step.

Aqua drew her while and lashed it around his neck. She kept it there even as it started to steam upon contact with the poison blood. She closed her eyes and tugged at it for a moment, using it as a rope to climb up onto his chest. Mike shouted in protest and for her to come back down, but she ignored him. Aqua placed her hand on the Titans chest and shook her head. "He can't be alive, I sense no heartbeat."

"Well he's moving." Piper fumbled with her sword as she tried to pull it out of her belt. She managed to free it from her scabbard. When she did, the fissures started to grow and nearly enveloped her if she hadn't hopped out of the way. The soldiers behind her started to back away when their mounts mounts reared up and nearly threw them off.

Perses mouth started to open up slightly, like a crack forming in rock. Lava started to slowly drip from his mouth and onto the ground. "It's like his body is doing some sort of self destruction." Piper called out as Aqua swung to her side and pulled her whip back.

We were now away from the are we fought at as lava, poison and all manner of destruction emitted from the fallen giant. Our group slowly started to regroup not too far away and looked at the puddle of poison and lava begin to expand. It started to speed up once again. "We need to get back to get village and warm everyone, or this Titan could destroy everything."

Mike nodded and circled are group for a little bit. He seemed to analyze everything around us and took a few minutes to take in everything. "Alright everyone, this is what we're going to do." He gestured for the soldiers. "I need some of you to monitor the flow of all that and give us regular updates."

Several of them quickly spoke up and offered their services.

Once he had his volunteers, the Son of Ares nodded to himself. "Alright now the rest of us need to head back to the village. Let's ride."

It only took a few minutes to rouse the rest of us into movements. I kicked the heels of my horse and we were soon riding off back towards the way we came.

"What's going on here?" Brasidas shouted as we entered the village. He left his home with two guards and made his way towards the group of gathering villagers who left to heed our call. A frown formed on his lips as he took note of our ragged appearance. "Nothing good then."

"I'm afraid so." I nodded grimly. Ryan and Katie emerged from the inn, both looking at me expectantly. Judging by Ryan's clenched jaw he heard everything that happened. "That Titans body is tearing itself apart, spewing poison and lava and is heading towards this village. It could destroy this entire island."

The villagers gasped and looked at each other in shock. A women in the back dropped the basket she was carrying in surprise while some of the guards looked at each other uncertainly. One of the kids hiding behind his fathers legs peeked up. "Are we going to die?" He whimpered and felt his lip quivering.

"No we're not." Brasidas said loudly, his voice carrying over to the rest of the crowds. They immediately stopped their worries and turned to him with eyes pleading for good news. He looked at the boy and placed his hand on him reassuringly. Forcing a smile he turned his head back to the crowds. "Then we should begin making preparations for evacuations."

"We have a ship." Ryan offered. "If you have any extra vessels we can load up your people and sail out of here."

"We have a few boats we use for fishing." Brasidas said and pointed at the small pier set up at the far end of the village. There were about a dozen small vessels of varying size parked there, but the largest one couldn't have been able to hold more than thirty people.

Ryan and I exchanged looks and we both knew that the it wouldn't be enough. Their ship on the other hand might be able to squeeze in the rest of the people. "We'll get our ship and move it here to pick up your people."

"Wouldn't that take too long?" Someone called out from the crowd. The others started to shout in agreement and demanded that we take to them to the ship immediately.

Ryan raised his hands up to the people and tried to quiet them down. No one seemed to heed him as they continued to shout and some started to get impatient and begin throwing things at him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, an explosion of shadows shot up behind him like a geyser.

This quieted everyone down who shrunk back in fear and looked at him, whimpering. When they quieted down, Ryan nodded. "Now then, our ship is docked on the other side of the island past the lava. And it's not fast enough to reach you for the next few hours. That will give us enough time to bring the ship around, now I hope that you people use that time to prepare for evacuation."

Brasidas looked at us in agreement and jerked his chin outwards towards the horizon, a gesture for us to get going. Ryan turned around at us. "I can shadow travel there, or at least as far as I can. Katie can fly there with me. The rest of you guys better stay here and help the people."

I nodded, but Aqua stepped forward. "I can help get the ship to move faster with the water. I should go too."

"Alright." Ryan said and gave me, Piper and Mike our orders. "Then let's get going people."

He grabbed Aqua and wrapped his arms around her before closing his eyes and heading to the shade. The two of them were enveloped in the shadows and vanished from sight.

Katie's POV

I hoovered above the sky for a bit, digging my heels into my sneakers as I started to search around the treeline. This was were Ryan said he would most likely end up after shadow travelling. The wings on my sneakers started to slow down as started to glance downwards.

Then I saw the flashing light. It nearly struck me in the eye and sent me stumbling in the air for a minute. I quickly righted myself and glanced down in the direction of the light which darted around rapidly.

There, on the tree. Ryan stood there with his knife in hand, the blade reflecting against the sun to create a ray. He had one hand gripping a branch while the other waved his knife around. When he realized that I saw him, he flicked it back into his sheath.

Aqua was just a branch under him, sitting down there as she adjusted the grass braided into her hair. I began to float down to Ryan's level and nodded. "Nice of you to make it." He said and leaped down, easily landing to his feet with the grace of a cat.

The Naiad lashed her whip around the vine and swung down. They brushed dirt from their clothes and Ryan started to look around. "So this is the forest close to where we first landed." He noted.

I bit my lip and nodded. The place where I was kidnapped by local Satyrs as hostages was how I remembered it more. Still I kept my mouth shut and simply nodded. "The ship should be somewhere there." I said and pointed to the nearby cliffs.

Aqua held her whip and started to jog ahead there to scout ahead. Ryan held his spear tightly in both hands as he peered around at the trees suspiciously. He furrowed his brows enough to a deep line on his forehead. "Something doesn't feel right." He remarked and glanced up again. "Like somethings watching us."

I started to look up as well, just as Aqua was about to reach the end of the forest. Suddenly a number of shapes descend upon her. She whirled around and gasped in surprise as they rushed at her. She managed to lash her whip out and hit one across the cheek before being overpowered.

Ryan quickly sprinted towards her, his spear in hand as he prepared to help her. He pulled the weapon back and ran it through the first target before he turned around, but another suddenly smashed in the back of his knee with a club. He crumpled to the ground without another word.

I screamed in surprise as I started to float up in the air and get to higher ground. I managed to rise a few feet before a bolo net wrapped around my legs. It swiftly spun around as it tightened around my legs and left me unable to move. I crashed face first into the dirt and the figures surrounded me.

There were ten of them in all with their weapons ranging from clubs, to spears, daggers and bolos. I spat out some dirt and coughed as I noticed their cloven feet tapping against the dirt. A growl formed on my lips. Satyrs then.

The leader was good shorty who smirked triumphantly and looked down at me and disgust. He hefted his club at his shoulder and made a few mocking swings at me. "Well well well. What do we have here? Welcome back my dear. I assume you're here to resume your captivity with us since you enjoyed it so much?"

In response I spat at his face. He growled and wiped his face, before slamming his club at my stomach. I doubled over and coughed up some blood and looked up at him and snarled in anger even as the other Satyrs started to laugh amongst themselves.

He struggled against the Satyrs retraining him. One pulled out his reed pipes and started to play a quick tune. Roots formed on the dirt at his side and suddenly wrapped around his wrists, keeping him down. They dragged Aqua too who only now started to stir and did the same with her.

The Satyrs threw her unceremoniously at our side.

Ryan looked at my with concern. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Ya I'm fine, just a bit shook up."

"I'm fine too, thanks for asking." Aqua grunted as she started to sit up and tried to rub the side of her head and winced. "What did I miss."

"Well our old Satyr friends decided to drop by once again.* I remarked, glaring up at the short Satyr. "What do you guys even want with us?"

"The same thing we wanted with you since we took you before. A proper ransom for some money and assurances that we'll be left alone." He replied and looked quite proud of himself for thinking of that plan.

I resisted the urge to laugh. "You idiot. You still think that Diomedes is still alive to offer you those things. And the villagers would sooner kill you than accept your terms." In truth I wasn't too sure how the villagers would react, but it was a good bluff nonetheless.

The Satyr looked at me for a long moment and blinked in confusion, his smug expression disappeared as he leaned in closer to me and drew a dagger with a wooden hilt. "Explain yourself. Quickly."

I looked up at him defiantly and jerked my chin up. "He was killed when we stormed the castle, him, his soldiers and the Titans. They're all gone cause we killed them." I kept my voice steady and even raised it a little bit as finished.

The Satyrs looked a bit less sure with themselves and glanced at each other nervously. Only the leader maintained a semblance of order and glared at the rest of the Satyrs calmed down. "That's impossible." He insisted and glared at me. "We know it's the Titan causing the lava flow right now. That's why we're going to hand you over and get him to stop it from destroying us."

I laughed bitterly. "Even if he was alive you would be insane to think that he would keep his end of the bargain. He would take us and burn the rest of you, but yes the Titan is causing this but he's no longer alive. Its his bodies self-destruction that's causing this."

"What!" He gasped out and wasn't trying to hide his surprise anymore. The others were in full panic now, stomping their hooves around on the ground and started to bleat loudly as they looked at their leader impatiently. They looked like they wanted nothing more than to get the heck out of here. "Y-your lying."

"Well you wanna go there and check?" I raised an eyebrow and rose to my feet. The Satyrs gasped and quickly raised their weapons in surprise, arms shaking as they did. I would have risked a laugh if the stakes weren't so high. They were scared, that was plain enough. All I needed to do was give them a bit more of a push. "Or you could make the smart choice and surrender. If you do, we can take you with us to our ship and away from here."

"Ship?" One of the Satyrs, by the sound of his voice cracking a younger one. He had a pockmarked face and carried a club covered with twigs. "You have a ship?"

Ryan and Aqua looked at me, a question in his face but he kept silent and only gestured for me to keep going. I nodded and pointed towards the cliff. "You can go check if you want."

Shorty barked at one of the Satyrs who trotted forward, moving nervously as if expecting a sort of trap. He peered over the side of the cliff and nodded his head softly in confirmation. The leader looked at me for a moment before nodding. "Very well," He sighed heavily and waved his hand to his people in order to get them to lower their weapons. "we will join you."

He flicked his knife and in one quick slice, snapped the ropes tying me. I rubbed my wrists and offered my hand out to him. "Alright them, I guess we're in agreement now."

The Satyr growled reluctantly and nodded to his people. Ryan and Aqua were both united and glared at their former captors, though they didn't say anything. "So when do we leave?" He asked and folded his arms.

"We can leave now if you can make it downstairs." Ryan said and started to get moving.

Shorty smirked. "That won't be a problem." Even as he said it, some of his other lackies seemed a bit more confident and started to trot ahead of them towards the cliff. To be fair, they moved with surprising grace and were just at home climbing down rocks as they were with trees.

Ryan grabbed Aqua and winked at me before vanishing. I rolled my eyes and quickly leaped from the ledge into a freefall. The Satyrs shouted in surprise as I flew past them. I closed my eyes and felt the breeze shooting at me, spreading my arms out like a bird before the wings on my shoes went to work and slowed my fall enough for me to land on the deck of the ship.

The rest of my quest mates were there and clapping their hands at my landing. Ryan grinned and flashed me a thumbs up. I grinned back and did a bow. The Satyrs managed to get here a few minutes later and barely even looked winded despite it being a nearly hundred foot drop. Aqua headed to the stern of the ship and began to conjure up waves to get the ship moving as Ryan began directing our new crew members to help manage the ship.

They seemed a little confused at first and stumbled around, but the two of us soon managed to divy them up and get them moving. Soon enough the boat was on the move and was now sailing through the island, our journey sped up with Aqua's waves. I took the air again and started to fly around the ship and scouted around for any trouble.

I relished the feeling of the warm breeze on my face, almost tickling me as I did a mid air spin and doing a roll. Ryan only rolled his eyes and told me to keep my eyes focused on the sight beyond

I chuckled and shook my head, spreading my arms out, eagle style. I looked around the horizon to scout ahead then froze as I saw smoke rising in the distance. It was still far, at least a few miles away but quite prominent and in the same direction of the village. My smile melted away into a dark frown as I shifted my position to a standing position and stared at the sight.

It was definitely in the general area of the village and judging by the amount of smoke rising it was a lot. Though it was a bit strange too, it wasn't dark enough to be from fire or lava. That last part gave me a sigh of relief. Instead it was whispy white, almost like mist.

Mist. Why would there be mist in the village? The bay which the village was built in wasn't cold enough to have been from ice or cold water. Wait, ice. "Oh no." My eyes widened as I tucked and dove dowards back towards the ship.

Ryan noticed me and quickly pulled back the Satyrs standing on the ship he cleared an area for me to land and moved to my side as I hit the ground with a heavy thud and moved to crouch. He helped me up and seemed concerned. "you came down pretty quickly, is there something wrong?"

I nodded grimly and pointed in the direction of the village. "Smoke."

Ryan eyes widened as he seemed to understand what I meant. He began roaring orders to the Satyrs to move double time as he headed to the stern towards Aqua. "There's trouble in the village, you might want to move double time."

The water nymph seemed to be getting a bit tired with her continuous efforts of the water and lines of exhaustion started to form on her face. Nevertheless she nodded and began to swirl the waters once again.

I shook my head and crouched down, the wings on my sneakers fluttering once again as I prepared to fly. I felt Ryans eyes glancing back at me. "That won't be fast enough." I tugged at the back of my sneaker to adjust it and prepared to go. "I should go ahead."

"Katie!" He grabbed my hand as I started to fly a few inches from the ground. He pulled me back hard enough to keep me from heading any higher. His eyes were wide with worry. "Be careful."

I smiled back at him and nodded. "I will."

With that, my wings started to flap and I flew off into the sky. I stretched my body and drew my sword as I flew into the sky. Beneath me the ship started to vanish into a small speck as I sped ahead.

As I continued to fly towards the village, I begin to take notice of the details. It wasn't fire indeed. It was much worse.

A figure floated in the air above the inn. She had her arms crossed and was over fifty feet above them. It was too far away to see, but as she raised her hand, a lance of ice as thick as me shot forward and struck a house, easily ripping through the wooden frame and impaling it from end to end.

My breath caught into my throat as I saw the ice queen casually moving on, more of gliding than flying. She was in a long flowing gown of white that didn't have a speck of dirt on it. Down below the people tried to put up some resistance, hurling spears and arrows at her and occasionally a bullet from a house which I assume is where Mike is. But each time it happened she either summoned a shield to block it or it missed completely.

She didn't notice me yet and made no move to stop me. I reeled to the side away from her and prepared to attack from the side. I suddenly thrust my body forward towards her and pulled my sword back into a swing.

Then she suddenly whirled around and caught my sword in her hand. I'm gritted my teeth and tried to push it forward, but Khione simply smiled and frost started to form on the blade.

I was forced to pull it back and glared at her. Khione let out a cold laugh and spun around in the air. Ice shards shot out from her skirt in all directions and caused me to move up just to avoid them. "It's so nice to see you again Katie. I assume you would like to join forces with me?"

"A tempting offer," I said and shook the excess frost from my sword and pointed it at her. "but I have to say no."

She pursed her lips into a thin line when she looked at me, as if I turned into some sort of garbage monster. "A shame, I was quite fond of you as a host." The nice queen crafted an intricate longsword of ice before charging at me.

I held my ground and prepared to meet her. Our blades struck and instead of sparks, mist appeared around them. Her sword was made of ice, but I was like hitting a brick wall. I jarred my hand enough to cause my sword arm to shake.

I nearly dropped it as she reposted and launched a thrust aimed at my head. I had to swerve to the side in order to avoid being skewered and responded by attempting to jab my sword onto her gut. She anticipated this and did a mid air flip, flying above me and floating behind me.

I anticipated her next move and dug my soles into her gut before using it to lunch me away. As I did, a sword sliced underneath me and missed only by a few inches. I quickly righted myself and glared at her. "Someone's good with a sword."

"My brothers and father taught me in case I ran into some lovesick gods." She replied and haughtily brushed her hair from her face. Khione leveled her sword again and bolts of ice started to fly towards me.

I cursed and zipped from side to side, swiftly dodging each strike as I tried to get in close. My sword was at least a foot shorter than hers so it made going on the offensive much harder. Still, I managed to nick her across the stomach. It was a shallow wound and little blood was drawn, but it was a hit nonetheless.

I grinned in triumph as I tried to hack at her side but did a somersault above me and tried to jab her sword down. I parried not and launched myself off of her chest again. This time it knocks the air out of her and leaves her gasping for air. "I guess you better go to daddy for more lessons." I smirked.

"Well you're going to need some new shoes then." Khione smirked, then as fast as lightning she shot downwards and grabbed my feet. Before I could even scream the ice started to curl around my sneakers. The wings flapped rapidly in a desperate bid to get free. I tried to kick her off but her grip was like a boa constrictor and she only loosened it once my sneakers were coated in ice.

An evil smirk formed on her face as she released her grip on me. I jerked my body upwards, trying to fly but my wings were frozen solid and I fell, screaming as I spread my arms around to try and halt my fall in any way I can.

The ground quickly started to grow larger as I fell, desperately I tried to smack at my sneakers with my swords in order to crack the ice. But it barely even dented it. My eyes started to water as I tried to break my fall and let out a terrified scream.

Suddenly something cut through the air and struck the back of my hoodie. It sent my flying and thudded against the wall of the inn. My body jerked around as it hit the wall hard. I grimaced in pain as I reached up to rub the back of my head, then gasped as I felt the wooden shaft of an arrow.

Sam panted loudly as he appraoched from a window one of the buildings. He lowered his bow and rushed to my side. "Oh my gods Katie. Are you ok?"

"I-I think so." My heart was smacking into my chest, bouncing around like pinball machine. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

He grabbed the arrows shaft and yanked it free with some effort. I landed on ground, which was about two feet beneath me and nodded at him. "Sorry about that." He apologized.

"It's fine." I said and drew my dagger from my belt. My sword had fallen somewhere in the street and I couldn't find it anymore. Sam quickly led me inside the inn, my feet felt like they were made of lead as the ice weighed me down. I could barely walk and practically tripped inside.

He approached the window and started to snipe arrows at Khione as another gust of cold wind blew over her. "Stay down here first Katie while you catch your breath." He instructed and pulled another arrow from his quiver.

I turned around and noticed that we weren't alone. Villagers were huddled under tables and chairs, shivering and hugging each other for warmth. One man made his way towards me against the protests of his wife who hissed for him to come back. He lot a torch and held it against my frozen sneakers. "This would take couple minutes for it to defrost enough for me to break it with an ice pick."

Sam took cover against as a pole of ice struck through the wall embedded itself against the wall. "It looks like we don't have a couple minutes." I said and grabbed the torch from the surprised man. I held it up against the top of my shoes, my brow furrowing as I held the flames just above the frozen tongues.

I clenched my fist around the torch impatiently as I heard the battle rage around me. I heard Piper's voice screaming from outside. Eventually I wiggled my foot around and was relieved to feel the tongues moving with it. With a soft sigh I pulled my feet free and handed my frozen sneakers to the man. "Keep defrosting those." I said and slipped off my socks as well to move easier.

Piper was now beside Sam, she tried to calm her down and get her to fight. "Save it Pipes, there's no point trying to reason with the ice queen." I held up my dagger and grinned. "I think it's time we take her the fun way."

She looked outside the window and nodded. "I think I can work with that, but how do we bring her down? Mike's getting the villagers to safety."

"Leave that to me." I said and flicked my knife.

Piper reached into her side and revealed my sword which she had kept at her side. "You might be needing this then. I found it after you fell a while ago."

I quickly took it and kept it at my side as I ran out of the inn. Some of the soldiers were trying to fight Khione. Brasidas quickly organized his men and together into a phalanx while his archers continued to pick her off.

In response, she waved her hand and unleashed another wave of ice. Soldiers screamed as bits and pieces managed to get passed their shield wall and find bare skin, but for the most part the soldiers were protected by their shields and armor. She growled and unleashed another wave, this time much more powerful and augmented with a blizzard wind. This forced them to scatter this time.

I moved to the side of the porch as Khione move forwards towards the soldiers. I flicked my knife and caught it by the blade. Pulling the hilt to my lips, I gave it a quick kiss before throwing the dagger at her.

The shot was golden and struck sailed into the air, taking the woman's side. Khione screamed as the dagger hit her hip. Golden blood quickly started to drip onto the dress, staining her dress as she whirled to me. I pulled out my sword and twirled it around. "Wanna fight me down here cause the rest of my knives were in my sneakers.*

Khione gave me a wicked sneer and floated down, that wicked ice sword clenched tightly in her fist. She pulled the knife out from her side and charged at me before she even touched the ground. I raised my sword to parry then pushed my weight forward.

She didn't give an inch and kept her ground, that was until Piper came leaping out the window with her sword raised in an overhead stroke. This forced Khione to back away from me in order to met her attack.

Piper anticipated this and suddenly jerked to the side. She feigned to the right and landed another cut across her side before I swung my blade at her. Khione quickly parried me but stumbled a bit at Pipers next attack. The two of us began to herd her back against the wall.

We exchanged glances and nodded at each other. The ice queen looked desperate now. She was panting with exhaustion and held her blade in front of herself. With her free hand she summoned another sword and charged forward.

The two of us were taken aback at surprise and barely managed to defend ourselves as she unleashed a new torrent of attacks. As the last of her swings hit, I pivoted to the side and thrust my sword low. Khione avoided it but it also put an end to the attacks.

The Daughter of Aphrodite threw a kick against her knee, followed by two quick punches at her sword arm. The ice queen had to pull her arm back which left her open to an attack which she did by swinging her sword against the woman's chest.

Khione didn't quite get her sword back as her chest was grazed by the sword before she managed to get parry it. She panted heavily and raised her two swords in the air. "Do you two honestly think you can defeat me? I am still a goddess."

"Who said anything about alone?" Brasidas said behind her. He had reorganized his men together into a phalanx along with Sam who had an arrow notched. Even Mike came running down with his rifle. In the distance the ship was arriving into the docks.

I smirked as I pointed my sword at her. "Well is the goddess prepared to face all of us?"

She growled and ground her teeth in frustration. Some of the men advanced closer with their spears raised, to which Khione responded by teleporting away in a flurry of ice.

"Come on everyone!" I shouted and waved my arm towards the ship. "Let's get the heck out of here."

Everyone quickly started to get moving. They wasted only a few moments gathering their weapons and belongings before following us towards the ship."


	18. Chapter 18

**Sam's POV**

"Hoist anchor!" A young voice shouted from the side of the ship.

"Trim those sails!" Another female added with a cheer.

"Brace for impact." A third voice said as well and was followed by a fit of giggles. A gaggle of children ran from the side of the ship, past many passengers who crowded the decks and shot them annoyed looks. In the sea, a trio of Nereids leaped out of the water like dolphins and waved at us.

One of them giggled as she sent a spray of water towards Aqua who was sitting on a stool at the back of the ship. She gasped as the water hit her right in the chest. A growl formed on her lips as she dried it and sent a small wave of water towards them. The girls gasped as they were sent tumbling away in the waves.

I chuckled and sip some of the ice-cold water that Piper handed me. She smiled and leaned on the upper deck beside me, looking over the edge at the kids. "Adorable aren't they."

"Well they're kids, anything they do at that age is cute," I said and took another sip and watched them head to the bow and pointed at Katie who was floating a few feet above them. She folded her arms together and was clearly enjoying the attention. I rolled my eyes when I saw this and looked around at the rest of the ship.

The whole ship was filled almost to the point of bursting with refugees from the village. All around them was a sizable flotilla of ships also taken from the village, a motley collection of fishing boats, small sailing ships and even a few Biremes.

They continued to remain close around the stolen pirate ship in order to receive immediate support from the big ship as none of them were made for sailing this far out. Thankfully Aqua was here to help. Her powers kept the ships in a speedy and safe journey through the sea.

Ryan was in his usual place within the captains quarters, keeping his hand on the captain's wheel while only occasionally taking his head out to give orders to the soldiers whom he contracted to his crew. "I'm pretty sure he's only acting as our captain because he likes to pretend to be in charge." She giggled once she was fairly sure Ryan couldn't hear.

She was wrong and Ryan glared at her for a second. This lasted only for a couple seconds before he stuck his tongue out and headed back into the captain's area.

"Did he like ships as a kid?" I asked and stretched my muscles, before placing my arm on her shoulder. "So what do you think will happen now? I mean after we get back to Camp Half-Blood?"

"Almost as much as he likes Katie." Piper grinned and turned around, easing my arm into her shoulder and wrapped it around her neck like a scarf. Piper shrugged in response to the second question. "Well first of we need to find a place for all these people to live in." She gestured her arm out broadly towards the crowds of people on deck. "I think Mount Olympus might have room for them, but we'll see soon enough when we get to camp."

I nodded and headed away from the rail. Piper noticed me leaving and followed me, my arm still wrapped around her shoulders. We headed below decks to our room, past all the people who smiled and greeted us. Despite losing their island they all seemed to be in good spirits.

I watched all the people. A smile of understanding formed on my lips. They were now free, for the first time in however long they didn't have to worry about monsters, Titans or tyrant kinds or anything else like that.

Before I even realized it, the two of us were in my room, sitting on my bed as Piper was smiling and holding my hand. "So how does your first quest feel like?"

"Well, I don't know how I feel about all the almost dying and the constant fighting for our lives." I put my feet up and started to relax into it. She followed suit and swung her legs onto the bed and placed them on my lap. I protested a little though Piper simply stuck her tongue out and ignored me.

"You'll get used to it." She stuck her tongue out, though there was a hint of seriousness in her voice as she said it. "So what did you like about this?"

"I'm sure I will." I planted a quick kiss on her forehead. The second part of the question struck me. It was a good question that did take me a few moments to think about. Eventually, I thought of my answer and smiled back at her. "Everything else."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

I nodded. "Ya, all of this." I gestured broadly around to the ship. "This great adventure we went on, seeing all these great people and helping people who need it, meeting Ryan and Aqua, and everyone else."

I paused for the last part. "And being here with you."

"Cheesy," Piper remarked, though she leaned in closer and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Coming from a Daughter of Aphrodite?" I grinned back at her and gently patted her head.

"Ya, so I know cheesy when I see it." She insisted and pouted. Piper soon began to doze off as I heard her snoring gently. Once she was asleep, I gently laid on the bed and smiled.

Above deck, I could hear Mike trying to sing a sea shanty with some of the people, though most of the time they were out of turn and I started to question if they were even singing the same song. Aqua was scolding Katie and trying to get her to quit bugging her.

The sound of another wave of water followed by another girl scream made me laugh. Though even I eventually started to get tired as I yawned and rested my head on the pillow beside Piper. My eyes started to get heavy and I soon passed out into a gentle slumber.

* * *

Ryan appeared from the captain's area and glanced out the horizon. A satisfied smile formed on his lips as he caught a view of the Camps harbor. He opened his mouth to say something.

"Land Ho!" One of the kids in a rumpled tunic shouted at the top of his lungs. Ryan scowled at the kid who stole his thunder while Katie and a few others laughed.

A dozen Greek Triremes were more there. The few that were being manned by campers swiftly started to break apart from the rest of the fleet to make way for us to pass. More campers started to materialize from the edge of the forest, gapping and ogling at the sight of our mismatched fleet. Some understood and headed to the remaining ships to begin moving them.

"Tell the rest of the ships to drop anchor while we wait for them to make way for us," Ryan said to Brasiadas who in turn relayed the orders to the remaining ships. They all stopped in a loose line a few hundred yards from the harbor.

Thankfully more campers seemed to be shaken out of their confusion and moved to help. Within a few minutes, the rest of the fleet was moved out of the way and a gap was formed which allowed us to pass.

With a pathway ready, Ryan signaled for his shop and rest of the fleet started to sail forward to the harbor. Chiron was waiting for us there, his brows were raised in surprise when he saw us, though he also seemed relieved at seeing us all here. Our ship was the first one there and we leaped out to meet him.

The old centaur cleared his throat and a smile formed on his lips. "Welcome home children, we were starting to worry about you." He glanced over his shoulder towards Brasidas who leaped down from the ship and moved to our side. "So would you like to tell me about your new friend's children?"

Ryan looked at them. "Of course Chiron, but maybe we should discuss this somewhere else, less public."

"Of course children. I have set up an area for us to talk not too far from here." He smiled and started to gallop off. The others followed after him, not towards the camp strangely enough, but deeper into the forest.

They broke away from the forest pathway and headed towards the area that was reserved for meetings amongst the Nature Spirits. The chairs and tables were made from tree trunks that were surprisingly evenly cut.

There was only one other person a short, pudgy man resting carelessly on one of the trunks. He had a can of diet coke in his hands which he sipped idly. "Sorry to interrupt you Mr. D, but I would think that you would like to hear the children's tale?"

He grunted and turned to us. When his bloodshot eyes turned to us, he seemed almost annoyed like he was being interrupted by someone else. Eventually, he sighed and gestured dismissively towards us. "Fine, fine. Tell me your tale."

Katie naturally took the lead here. She began to retell everything that happened on the island of the lotus eaters to the battle at Diomedes palace. She took particular pleasure in talking about how she single-handedly fought a Titan and his Dragon. I was fairly sure she was exaggerating most of the story.

When we the rest of the campers started to return. "Well that is quite a story, and I'm glad that Katie told it so I know most of it is exaggerated."

Even Katie nodded in acknowledgment, simply shrugging as the others smiled. He looked towards Brasidas and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Fear not for your people. Mr. D and I can make arrangements for them to be settled somewhere."

The Camp Director sighed. "Fine, I'll see if I can pull some strings."

Brasidas removed his helm and saluted to the centaur. He bowed then to Mr. D. "Thank you, my lord, we are grateful for your hospitality. Just know that we can do our share to help around your camp."

Chiron smiled and shook the old warrior's hand. "Thank you, sir, your assistance would be very welcome here."

The rest of us were dismissed once we told everything they wanted. The two of them started to begin discussing plans for Brasidas's people, as well as them offering their assistance however they can with running the camp, training the campers and harvesting the strawberries.

Ryan and Katie headed off in one direction while Mike and Aqua went in another. That left me alone with Piper who simply smiled at me. She offered her hand out to me. "Ready to head back to camp?"

"Ready." I took her hand in my own and the two of us strolled away.


End file.
